


Britin: A Day in the Life

by AshitaNewssnoopy



Series: Sunbeam Chronicles [2]
Category: Queer as Folk (US)
Genre: Anal Sex, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Could Be Canon, Drabble Collection, Established Relationship, F/F, Family, Family Drama, Family Feels, Fluff and Humor, Friendship, M/M, Married Life, Mpreg, Pregnancy, Vignette
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-01
Updated: 2018-10-23
Packaged: 2019-02-26 15:48:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 108
Words: 384,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13238994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AshitaNewssnoopy/pseuds/AshitaNewssnoopy
Summary: Justin and Brian have just announced their pregnancy to the family, much to the joy of many, and the aggravation of a few. Celebrate their up and downs, their joys and sorrows and surprises, as they make their way through the last five months of pregnancy and the first year of being fathers.





	1. January 1

**Author's Note:**

> [](https://imgur.com/Wjn4YBH)
> 
>  
> 
> This is again vignette style, where I will be sharing daily snippets of their lives throughout the end of their pregnancy and the first year of fatherhood. Or at least, it's my goal to post daily. We'll see how viable that is.
> 
>  **Disclaimer:** All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.

**January 1 – 17 weeks**

Justin hugged the toilet bowl, his forehead pressed against the cool porcelain as his stomach rumbled and rolled; he held his breath, desperately trying to push back the waves of nausea as he honestly didn’t think he had anything left in his system to purge. And he was so not a fan of dry heaving.

Fuck, he thought he was over this part of the pregnancy; he’d just been getting his appetite back around Christmas and now this.

Rubbing his face against his arm, he took a deep breath, hoping the neutral air was working its magic against the foul scent coming from downstairs. And when all he could detect was the faint smell of herbs, he sighed with relief and slowly lifted his head. He was so going to kill whoever was down in the kitchen.

Licking his lips, he stood, his legs still shaky due to his earlier vomiting, and walked slowly over to the sink. He quickly rinsed his mouth out and brushed his teeth before taking a long drink of water. Setting the glass aside, he walked out of the bathroom, stumbled over to his bed and flopped onto it, inadvertently disturbing a still snoring Brian.

Asshole; he would sleep through that.

Feeling a bit peevish due to his husband’s lack of support while he spent the morning puking his guts out, Justin jabbed him in the side and then shoved him over onto his stomach. He briefly considered pushing him out of the bed as well, but realized he didn’t have the strength and he’d just have to deal with irritated Brian on top of the rest of it, and he didn’t want to deal with it.

Brian snorted and stirred, and then groaned as he rubbed his face in the sheets.

“Oh God, why?” he lamented, his voice taking on a Michael-esque whine that raised Justin’s hackles further as he knew just why his husband was bitching and he felt no sympathy for him.

Justin just snorted, glaring when Brian managed to pry one eye open and stare hazily in his direction.

“Don’t tell me you’re sick too,” he muttered, wincing and closing his eye when someone opened the curtains to let the sunlight in.

A someone that, judging by the soft, floral scent, was his mother. Oh, goody.

“At least I have a reason to be sick,” Justin groused, burying his face in the pillow as another wave of nausea washed over him. Seriously, who the fuck was cooking that vile stuff in _his_ kitchen. “Unlike _someone else_ who thought it would be a bright idea to challenge Drew to a drinking contest. Tell me, how _did_ that turn out for you?”

Brian just groaned in answer.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” Justin said a bit petulantly. Yeah, he was acting a bit immature and vindictive; but since he was the one carrying their kid, he was justified in being a bit put out that his idiot husband was too hungover to help.

“How are you feeling honey?” His mother asked as she set a mug on the bedside table, then ran her free hand over his hair. Justin’s nose twitched as the scent of peppermint filled the air.

“I thought this was supposed to be over by now,” Justin grumbled, thoroughly put out that he was still having bouts of morning sickness.

“Sorry to tell you, sweetheart,” his mother chuckled, skirting the bed to set a set a second mug on the bedside table near Brian; likely his first dose of coffee. “But there are no hard and fast rules to this. Some people may never have morning sickness, while others have it for the entire time they are pregnant.”

“Oh, don’t say that,” Justin whined, (yes, whined; deal with it), slowly sitting up in bed so he could grab his tea. “You’ve likely jinxed me.”

“Drama princess,” Brian muttered, grunting when Justin shoved him with his foot.

“Fuck you,” he sniped, pausing only to take a sip of tea and sighing with pleasure as the peppermint worked its magic. “At least I didn’t do this to myself; it’s not my fault that Sunbeam hates the smell of bacon. _I_ wasn’t the one to drink himself into a stupor unlike some idiots who can’t seem to say no to something anyone with half a brain would’ve realized was a stupid move. I hope you enjoyed it because you’ll get no sympathy from me.”

“None of that; fucking you is what got you into this predicament in the first place,” Brian snickered, sitting up against the headboard as he sipped his coffee.

“Really?” Justin arched a brow, scowling when Brian smirked unrepentantly. “Out of everything I just said; that’s what you chose to focus on?”

“I can’t help it, Sunshine,” Brian sniggered, just barely dodging Justin’s hand as he reached to swat him on the arm. “You say the world fuck and my brain tends to short out.”

“And on that note, I’m leaving,” his mother snorted, and Justin flushed, realizing that he’d forgotten she was there. Whoops.

Justin settled in, sipping his tea and hoping for a few peaceful minutes to himself before trying to get out of bed to track down whoever was cooking bacon in his house. He didn’t even think they _had_ bacon, as Brian didn’t eat it, and Justin had stopped buying it once the morning sickness set in.

But as his mother exited, Emmett bounced in, far too chipper for anyone’s good considering it was the first of the year and they’d all been at the party to end parties. What the fuck? When had his bedroom become Grand Fucking Central?

“Good morning everyone,” Em chirped, still wearing the [‘Eat My Meat’](https://imgur.com/LgGXoTY) apron that someone, likely the person in question actually, had gifted Justin years ago. “I see that we’re doing much better than Drew.”

“Fuck off, Honeycutt,” Brian glowered at Em over his coffee. “I don’t want that name mentioned to me for the rest of the day.”

“Don’t call me Honeycutt!” Em scowled, picking at some non-existent bit of fluff only he could see. “Grouch; you’re just as much of a bear as he is this morning.” And then Em smiled and walked over to Justin, fluffing his pillows and coddling him until Brian growled in annoyance. “How are you feeling today, Baby?”

“Like ass,” Justin muttered, still sipping on his tea. “And ready to kill whoever made bacon this morning.”

“What’s wrong with bacon, sweetie?” Em asked, looking a bit concerned

“Sunbeam doesn’t like it,” Brian explained, chuckling when Justin whimpered; he glared at his husband’s lack of sympathy, (yeah, yeah, double standards, but at least _he_ was pregnant, not hungover), and pouted.

“Oh…uh, be right back,” Em squeaked and then headed swiftly out the bedroom door; Justin watched him leave, a suspicious glare on his face. He had a feeling he’d just found his culprit. Lucky for Em, he happened to like him far too much to kill him. Yet.

“Ten bucks on Aunty Em was the culprit,” Brian said, watching a disgruntled Justin with an amused smirk.

“Sucker bet,” Justin muttered; he swallowed down the rest of his tea as hurried footsteps made there way back to their bedroom.

“So, just out of curiosity,” Em said as he popped his head back in. “How does Sunbeam feel about eggs?”

Justin just groaned and buried his face into his hands; Brian laughed and batted away a pillow that went flying his way.

“Right,” Em nodded slowly; he chewed on his lower lip as he considered something and then heaved a sigh. “What _does_ Sunbeam like?”

“If it has enough sugar to give an elephant hypoglycemia, you can guarantee it will be a hit.” Brian snickered, dodging yet another pillow.

“That’s not true,” Justin hissed, lying through his teeth; he did not need that information to get back to his mother and Deb. They’d get all worried about his eating habits again and he’d never get them to leave.

“Twinkies, Sunshine,” Brian said, a bland look on his face. “Need I remind you of the Twinkies smeared in raspberry preserves, drizzled in chocolate sauce and smothered in whipped cream? And don’t even get me started on the marshmallow fluff…for breakfast no less.”

“Fuck you,” Justin hissed, pouting when Brian flashed him an unrepentant grin.

“I told you, none of that,” Brian said, shaking a mocking finger in his face. “That’s what got you into this predicament in the first place.”

“Please,” Justin snorted, leaning back against the headboard. “If I denied you access to my ass, you’d shrivel up and die of sexual frustration in the matter of days, if not hours.”

“Right,” Em drawled again, looking between the two of them hesitantly before pasting on a stiff smile. “How about a batch of hot, sticky buns?”

“Already had those last night,” Brian quipped, tongue in cheek, laughing when Justin squawked, and then tackled him, knocking him flat on his back and began pummeling him with his pillow.

“That sounds wonderful, Em,” Justin huffed out between hits. “Now, if you don’t mind, I suggest leaving while I smother my husband; plausible deniability.”

Em just laughed, and spun on his heel, knowing he wasn’t needed for what would happen next; and it wasn’t violence much to Justin’s chagrin. He quirked a grin and shot back over his shoulder, “I’ll just give you two a moment. Although, try not to do too much damage, Baby; we all know you’d miss the sex.”


	2. January 2

**January 2**

Staring at the computer in front of him, Brian sighed and rubbed a hand over his face as he flipped through the digital pictures his Sonny Boy had sent him. Or, really, it was one in particular that had caught his attention. He didn’t even think Gus realized what he’d caught on camera, as the person Brian was staring at wasn’t the focus of the photo, but in the background.

At the center was Justin, laughing, and being nearly squeezed to death by both Debbie and Jen after their announcement. Emmett was leaning forward in his chair trying to put his hands on Justin’s still flat stomach, while Drew tried to keep him from falling out of said chair. Ted, who had known before everyone due to Justin blurting it out during a pitch, just smiled, his arm wrapped around an equally happy, and very pregnant, Blake.

And hadn’t that been a blessing in disguise? He didn’t know how they would have made it through the first weeks of morning sickness without Blake. He’d likely be dead, having been murdered in his sleep by his very sick and emotionally wrought husband for knocking him up in the first place. It didn’t matter that theirs was a planned pregnancy when Justin was hugging the toilet bowl.

Next to them was an excited Jenny, beaming and clapping her hands in glee at the thought of being a big sister. And of course, Justin; he always went back to Justin in the end because… God, he was beautiful, glowing with health and happiness as everyone congratulated them on the baby.

The lone sour note of the entire composition was standing in an out of the way corner, arms crossed over his chest, pouting like a five-year-old instead of the forty-two-year-old man that he was supposed to be. Mikey stared at Justin malevolently; with a scowl on his face that sent a chill down Brian’s spine. He’d noticed that Mikey had been silent for the rest of the night, claiming tiredness, but hadn’t noticed his initial reaction as he’d been too caught up watching his husband.

But seeing it now, he’d wished he had, so he could’ve pulled Michael away from the rest of group and reamed his ass for his attitude; telling him to either get the fuck over it, or don’t bother coming back into the house.

How he’d missed this that night, he didn’t know; but he wasn’t going to put up with it if Mikey even thought of causing issues.

Hearing humming coming down the hall, Brian quickly tapped the arrow to switch to the next picture. He’d prefer to keep it from Justin if at all possible. His husband did not need the added stress.

He studied the next photo. This one had Justin as the centerpiece again, but also included Brian this time as well. He smiled as he recalled being reluctantly tugged into the middle of the Jen, Justin and Deb sandwich by Deb. He’d laughed, and tried to fight them off, even as he wrapped his arms around his husband and pressed his lips into Justin’s hair. And Justin holding his stomach and laughing as he whispered ridiculous things in his ear.

“What are you looking at?” Justin asked as he came up behind him.

“Some pictures that Gus took on Christmas Day,” Brian said, tipping his head back to kiss him. Justin smiled against his mouth and then pulled away, rubbing his nose against Brian’s before they both turned back to the photo. “Or, more specifically, pictures from when we made our announcement.”

“Oh, that,” Justin said in somewhat flat tone; Brian turned to his husband a bit sharply, wondering if Sonny Boy had sent the file to Justin as well. But then he recalled that Gus had told him to make sure Justin saw them, and relaxed. Still, he didn’t like whatever put that look on Justin’s face.

“Yeah, that,” Brian said, watching his husband closely for any clues to what might be bothering him. Justin just shrugged and waved him off.

“Honestly, I’m not sure what was worse,” Justin said, as he walked toward the mini fridge Brian kept in his study and pulled out a bottle of water.

Justin held the bottle up in question, but Brian shook his head and held up his tumbler of Beam in answer. Closing the door, Justin opened the bottle and took a sip as he made himself comfortable on the leather couch.

“You were saying?” Brian prompted, wanting to know what exactly had put that frown on Justin’s face.

“Right,” Justin continued with a sigh. “I don’t know what was worse – Michael’s complete and utter denial that we’re a couple.”

Ah that.

Brian’s grimaced, vaguely recalling an overheard snippet of conversation between Michael and Justin soon after the announcement. Something about how Justin must be proud of himself to have finally found a way to tie Brian to him for life. Yet another thing he would be addressing with Michael. And soon.

He’d thought Michael had gotten over this shit years ago. But it seemed like, every time something big happened in Brian’s life – especially when he didn’t know about it in advance – he freaked out and pulled the, ‘you aren’t really a couple’ bullshit. It was getting a bit old.

But that was a topic for later; he’d have to find some time to set Mikey straight and preferably when Justin wasn’t around.

In the meantime, he needed to tune back in.

“This is in spite of the fact that we’ve been together about two years longer than he and Ben have,” Justin said, his brow pinched with irritation.

And wasn’t that the truth? True, he and Justin hadn’t had what could be called a conventional relationship in the beginning, but it had still been a relationship.

“Or was it Lindsay’s Earth Mother with all the answers routine,” Justin finished with a huff.

Brian snorted, because the idea of Lindsay being an expert at anything related to relationships or raising children amused him. Frankly, when it came to parenting advice, he’d stick with Mother Taylor. She'd raised both Justin and Molly,  and they'd both turned out well in spite of that asshole Craig. Both were bright, successful and most importantly, happy.

“We’ll just say that they were both annoying and leave it there,” Brian said, pensively sipping on his Beam.

“I’m still trying to figure out why they thought any of it was their business,” Justin sighed, rubbing his hand over his stomach; he’d been doing that a lot lately. “How the fuck are we still dealing with this shit all these years later?”

“I have no fucking idea,” Brian sighed, his mind going back the picture and the look Michael gave Justin. “But if they start trying to interfere, I’m not putting up with their shit; and neither should you.

“Please,” Justin snorted, getting up off the couch. “I’ve _never_ put up with Michael’s shit. Ignored it? Yes, as I have far better things to do with my time than feed Michael’s inner drama queen. But simply lie down and take it up the ass to keep the peace? Absolutely not; like I’d want his dick anywhere near me.”

“Tell me how you really feel, Sunshine,” Brian smirked as Justin came over, leaned down and pressed a lingering kiss on his lips.

“I’m going to start dinner,” he said as he pulled away. “Any requests?”

“Whatever you want,” Brian said, not really caring what they ate; and then he paused, and added. “Just leave the weird shit off of mine.”

“You have no sense of adventure,” Justin mock complained, his eyes sparkling with humor as he likely recalled some of the weird food combinations he’d eaten over the past few weeks.

“Not what you said last night,” Brian teased, leaning up to steal another kiss.

“Perv,” Justin accused, smiling against his mouth.

“You love it,” Brian said as he pulled away with a soft smile.

“I love you,” Justin corrected with an equally soft smile, and then turned on his heel, saying as he walked out of the room. “The rest I merely tolerate.”

Brian stared at the, now, empty space where Justin had just been standing for a several long moments, his heart warmed by his husband’s words. And then he exhaled explosively and turned back to the computer. He clicked the back arrow, and studied the first picture again, vowing to keep an eye on Michael.

Nothing, but _nothing_ was going to ruin this time for Justin.

Even if that meant kicking his best friend to the curb.


	3. January 3

**January 3**

Justin sat back in the Diner booth with a sigh, already exhausted, and it was barely noon. Why he thought it would be a good idea to go window shopping with Brian after their appointment, he had no idea. But he blames himself for forgetting that with Brian, it never sticks to window shopping. It always means, “I need to go in for just this one thing.” Which ends up being ten things and by the time they were done, all the greedy…he means good little shop keepers were personally thanking them for their visit.

He should have learned by now, but it was difficult to say no to Brian when he was that happy.

Rubbing his hand over his stomach, Justin could almost imagine he felt a swell, despite knowing due to Brian’s ‘daily examinations,’ as he called them, that it was still as flat as the day they’d met. Closing his eyes, he smiled to himself and couldn’t wait to find evidence of their child; he couldn’t wait to see Brian’s face when that first swell of life became evident.

To see Brian’s eyes light up with excitement and joy, just as they did when Justin had first told him they were going to have a baby. And what a day _that_ had been. Justin had been feeling sick for a couple of weeks, throwing up and feeling generally nauseous during the mornings, and had finally caved in and went to the doctor’s after his mother threatened to drag him herself.

One examination, and a couple of tests later, the doctor was giving him the good news and congratulating him. Excited by the news, he'd immediately drove over to Kinnetik, and burst into the conference room that he knew Brian would be using for the day and blurted out the news to all assembled.

Of course, he hadn’t planned on Brian being in the middle of a presentation when it happened; he’d thought it would be over by then. Luckily, the clients, caught up in the good news themselves, had all smiled and wished them well, and Brian had managed to snag the account despite the interruption.

“So, how did you do it?” A familiar snide voice demanded, bringing Justin back to the present. Justin sighed internally and opened his eyes to Michael's sneering face. Well, the day had started out well at least.

“Do what?” Justin asked in a bored tone, one brow arched.He wasn't going to give the little weasel the satisfaction of seeing his confusion.

“How did you trick Brian into having a kid?” Michael spat, spittle flying out of his mouth and hitting the table between them.

“Excuse me?” Justin asked incredulously, wondering if he heard the asshole correctly. What business was it of his?

“You heard me; how did you trick him? Did you poke a hole in the condom? Did it break? Did you inseminate yourself with his…” Michael babbled on, his eyes spitting fire.

“I heard you the first time,” Justin cut in scornfully, his own cheeks heating with anger. “I’m just trying to figure out how you think it’s any of your business?”

“Brian is my best friend,” Michael said, beginning his infamous litany, and growing angrier when Justin blatantly rolled his eyes at the statement. “And it is my job to make sure that not taken advantage of by gold diggers…”

Justin opened his mouth to retort, but then quickly shut it as he noticed an enraged Brian standing just behind Michael. Not that anyone but he could tell just how pissed off Brian really was; he’d always been skilled at hiding his emotions. Michael, of course, was oblivious.

“Please tell me I did not just hear you refer to my husband of five years as a gold digger, Michael,” Brian said in a cold, steely voice that sent a chill down Justin’s spine; and Brian’s ire wasn’t even directed his way. Michael frozeand his eyes widened, a hint of fear filling them as he slowly turned to face Brian. But Brian didn’t care, continuing in chilly tone. “My _very_ successful artist husband, I might add, who makes five to ten grand, if not more, per painting; _and_ sells out at nearly every show he’s taken part in.”

“Nearly?” Justin asked, trying to defuse the scene with a bit of levity; it wouldn’t do to have Brian murder the dickhead; even if he deserved it. At least, not with so many witnesses present.

“Well, you can’t really be held accountable for L.A.,” Brian smirked, knowing full well what Justin was trying to do, and playing along for the moment. “It’s not your fault that Californians have no taste.”

“Nice,” Justin said, a sardonic grin on his face; what Brian forgot to mention was that L.A. had been cancelled. Not because the gallery didn’t wanted him to show, but because some idiot had tried to have him show with Sam Auerbach not realizing there was bad blood between the two artists.

He’d heard that same idiot had been fired quickly after that.

“Brian, I didn’t know you were…” Michael said faintly, his face pulling into an all too familiar hang-dog face, complete with puppy eyes.

But the act didn’t fool Brian, whose eyes grew flinty as they settled on Michael; fuck, he so wouldn’t want to be in Michael’s shoes right now. Brian had become obsessively overprotective since their announcement for some reason and Justin didn’t envy the other man at all.

“Here?” Brian asked, that cold, steely tone returning to his voice; accompanied by a look that would have surely bludgeoned Michael across the floor if it were at all possible. “I noticed; and I’m still waiting for an answer.”

“Well, something must have happened.” Michael insisted petulantly, obviously not sensing the danger he was in.

“Yeah, it did,” Brian agreed; and Justin had to roll his eyes at the smug smile that spread across Michael’s face; one that died an ignominious death as Brian continued in sarcastic tone. “It’s this crazy thing called planned pregnancy. Imagine that! Who knew that when you stopped using condoms, and your husband goes off his birth control, you get pregnant. It’s quite wild and I can’t believe it happened. It’s a miracle!”

“What?” Michael stared at Brian, utterly stunned.

“Yeah, who knew, right?” Brian said again, pretending he didn’t know just exactly what had thrown Michael.

“You’re doing it raw?” Michael spat, garnering the attention of everyone in the diner; well, it wasn’t like they hadn’t already been discreetly listening in, but now they’d all stopped the pretense of minding their own business and simply stared at them in fascination.

Fucking Michael.

“Not that it’s any of your business, but yes, we _are_ fucking raw,” Brian stated, arching a brow as if asking _‘and what exactly does this have to do with you?’_ It always amazed Justin just how much Brian could express with a single gesture or expression. “Have been for four years; the only difference now is that Justin isn’t on birth control.”

“Four years?” Michael asked in a hushed tone, paling dramatically at the implications; for some reason, Michael had thought that Brian was still tricking. Brian hadn’t seen the need to correct his assumptions.

“Yup, when I finally got him to say ‘I do’,” Brian said, smirking at a rapidly flushing Justin. “I tied his ass down with monogamy, waited a year to make sure there were no issues and tossed all our condoms away.”

“Brian,” Justin chided, watching as Michael went from white to purple in the matter of seconds; as amusing as it was to toy with idiot, he didn’t want him to drop dead from an aneurism.

“Okay, no, I didn’t,” Brian snickered; Michael looked relieved, obviously misunderstanding what he was saying until Brian continued. “I gave them to Hunter. Your kid is gifted by the way. Not that I’ve seen it, but you hear things.”

Justin face-palmed, shaking his head in utter despair as Michael turned red once more. Brian was enjoying this far too much.

“Raw?” Michael asked again, as if still not quite believing it. “But you said…”

“Things change, Mikey,” Brian said, growing serious for the first time. “I figured I broke every other rule for my blond boy ass…” Brian laughed and ducked as Justin squawked and threw a carrot stick at his head. “…what was one more. You got a problem with it?”

“I…” Michael opened and closed his mouth several times, clearly at a loss of what to say.

“Yes?” Brian prompted as he walked around Michael and sat down in the booth, opposite to Justin.

“I gotta go,” Michael hastily said, spinning on his heel and heading for the door, stiffening as Brian called over his shoulder.

“You do that.”

Brian turned back to Justin and shrugged, utterly unconcerned of his ‘best friend’s’ plight.

“You’re evil,” Justin said, shaking his head at his husband’s antics.

“Amazingly enough, you like me that way,” Brian grinned and picked up the menu; although, why he did when he ordered the same damned thing every time, Justin didn’t know. “Now what did you want to eat? Or do I want to know? You aren’t going to dip your apples in teriyaki sauce again, are you? Because I don’t think I can handle that today.”

Justin just rolled his eyes and studied the menu, determined to find the weirdest food combination he could, no matter how gross, and force himself to eat it for that comment alone.


	4. January 4 (Part One)

**January 4 (Part One)**

Emmett stared in horrified awe as Justin took yet another big bite of his ‘breakfast’ and fought desperately not to lose his own.

“God, this is the best thing ever,” Justin said as he licked his fingers, sucking each into his mouth, one by one, and then releasing them with an audible pop.

“Isn’t it?” Blake said, equally as enthusiastic; although, he, at least, was being much neater about it, preferring to use a knife and fork to cut said breakfast into manageable pieces.

Emmett on the other hand just shuddered and remained silent; and then finally turned away, unable to watch them devour that utter travesty to the taste buds.  Really, how could they do that to one of his favorite foods? But, like his Great Aunt Lula said, _‘if you ain’t got nothing nice to say, boy; you best done hold your tongue, else you might just live to regret it. There be enough fools about spouting off their ignorance without you adding to it.’_

It was a motto that he tried to live by; even when faced with such a blatant faux pas on his friends’ part.

Emmett smiled fondly at the thought of his auntie, his eyes misting over just a bit; he missed that daft, old woman. How she would have loved his friends had she lived long enough to meet them. He could just see her sitting there, chewing her tobacco and watching Justin and Blake with unholy glee. How she’d then spit it out in her spittoon, cackle with delight and spout off something wise all wrapped up in a sarcastic observation, not caring what the world thought of her.

She’d definitely been the black sheep of the family; much like him. He supposed that was why they got along so well – like recognized like.

But he digressed.

Shaking himself out of his thoughts, Emmett turned back in time to see Justin finish his…delicacy of choice… in one huge gulp, his cheeks puffing out like an adorable, little chipmunk. Not that he’d ever say so, as Justin, the smallest of their group, was a bit sensitive about his height.

Why, he didn’t know; if he’d had Justin’s angelic looks, height and cute, little bubble butt, he’d totally work it to his advantage. Although, come to think of it, Justin did seem to get away with more than his fair share.  So, maybe he did take advantage of all that bounty. The boy _was_ a genius after all.

“I’d never get away with eating this with Brian,” Justin heartily agreed, breaking through Emmett’s thoughts once more as he reached for another, smearing his and Blake’s chosen condiments on with a heavy hand. He rolled his eyes as he continued. “He gets nauseous at the oddest things.”

Emmett just stared, not quite certain how to take that. After all, it was true that Brian tended to be a bit, well, fussy, when it came to what he put in his body; but, really, he had to agree with him on this. If there was anyone in their group that knew, and embraced, over the top, it was him; and if even _he_ was having issues with the menu, well he wouldn’t be surprised if la God Kinney went running the other way.

And then, just because he could, he snapped a picture of Justin’s ‘breakfast,’ and sent it to Brian. Because like hell was he going to suffer alone.

“You don’t think that donuts topped with cheddar popcorn and mustard isn’t a bit odd?” Emmett said, casting a dubious glance at said donuts. “I mean, I’m usually not one to judge, honey; but I sort of see his point on this one.”

Justin studied Emmett for several long moments, his expression slightly incredulous as if Emmett was talking complete and utter nonsense. To which Emmett just raised his brows, because he was so not the crazy one in this group. And then Justin looked down at his plate and laughed, shrugging ruefully in concession.

“Well, okay, yeah,” Justin agreed, still sniggering at Emmett’s doubtful expression. “I see your point on this. But that’s not what I was talking about.”

“Oh, so what has him in up in arms this time,” Blake asked, pushing his plate away, obviously done massacring his poor donuts.

“It’s still the Twinkie thing,” Justin rolled his eyes, and Emmett had to laugh because he’d heard about the ongoing struggle between Brian and Justin over his latest food obsession. “The other day, I wanted Twinkies for breakfast and he nearly threw fit; he went on and on about how Twinkies were a snack not a breakfast food. I mean, it wasn’t like I was having the Twinkies by themselves.”

“Do I even want to know what else you were planning to eat with them?” Emmett asked hesitantly, and then decided that was an unwise move on his part judging by Justin’s shifty expression. Luckily, Justin didn’t elaborate.

“Probably not,” Justin said with a wry grin.

“I am never going to eat like this if Drew and I decide to have a baby,” Emmett vowed; shuddering as Justin kept right on eating without pause.

“That’s what we all say,” Justin snickered, pointing at Emmett with his doctored, pink-frosted, rainbow sprinkle donut. “And then, the next thing you know, you’re dipping your apple slices in teriyaki sauce and it’s the _best thing ever_.”

“Seriously,” Blake nodded, sipping on his orange juice. “Although, for me, it was pickles and caramel sauce.”

“You are joking, right,” Emmett said, his stomach turning at the mere thought.

“Nope,” Justin chirped; and really, he was far too damn cheerful about ruining all of Emmett’s dreams. “Get used to it; because the sprog will turn your culinary palate upside down. And suddenly you hate things you once loved and you love things you swore you’d never eat. It’s a bitch.”

Emmett shot his friend a dirty look and pushed his favorite banana, caramel and pecan stuffed French toast away, having suddenly lost his appetite. Justin eyed it hungrily and then looked up at Emmett.

“You going to eat that?” he asked, even as he dragged the plate towards him.

Emmett threw up his hands in mock surrender and watched in fascination as Justin attacked it as if he hadn’t just eaten three donuts and a bowl of fruit. Emmett shook his head, wondering where the hell he put it. His appetite had been voracious before, but now that he was pregnant, it was awe inspiring. Especially given there was not a stray ounce of fat clinging to his compact body, except for maybe a slight thickening around his waist.

He sighed in envy; he just knew he wouldn’t be so lucky.

“I miss bacon,” Justin said, mournfully staring across the restaurant at a patron happily chowing down on a plate of bacon.

“I miss chocolate,” Blake countered in an equally mournful tone. “Why Peanut decided to hate chocolate of all things, I have no idea.”

“Chocolate?” Justin stared at Blake incredulously.  “Really?”

Blake nodded, looking utterly miserable as he stared at a passing tray with a chocolate shake on it. Emmett couldn’t blame him at all; if he couldn’t eat his weight in chocolate if he felt like it while pregnant, there was really no point to life.

“I am _so_ sorry,” Justin said, patting him on the back. “I don’t know how I’d survive without chocolate; Brian would have likely been dead by now.”

“Trust me,” Blake muttered, rubbing his stomach. “It was close a few times. The only thing that stopped me was the fact that I would have to deal with all of the 2 a.m. feedings alone; and that was so not happening.”

“You know,” Emmett said, eyeing his two friends with mild panic; because, there were a lot of things Emmett was willing to give up for his child, but chocolate was not one of them. “You two really _do not_ make it sound all that appealing.”

“Well, the first few months do kind of suck,” Blake laughed, sharing a commiserating look with Justin; and then his face softened and he rubbed his belly again. “But then, you hear your child’s heartbeat or feel them move for the first time, and suddenly, it’s all worth it. “

“I can’t wait for that,” Justin said, flashing Blake a shy smile as he too rested his hand on his stomach. “There have been a couple of times where I thought I might have felt something, but it could have been gas bubbles.”

“That’s so amazing,” Emmett cooed, clapping his bands with excitement; he really couldn’t wait until his Baby was at that stage.

“Yeah, but then you get to the end and…” Blake said before trailing off into a sharp gasp. He clutched at his stomach and sunk his teeth into his lower lip as he tried to bite back a moan. “Ow; fuck that one hurt.”

“What?” Emmett asked, watching Blake with concern. “Is something the matter with the baby, sweetie?”

“Contraction,” Blake gasped, his knuckles blanching as he pressed his hand against his stomach. “They’re starting to get stronger and come closer together.”

“Are you telling me that you’ve been in labor this entire time?” Emmett demanded, his panic ratcheting up another notch as he stared at his friend incredulously. He was so not ready for this.

“Well, sure,” Blake shrugged; and seriously, how the fuck could he be so blasé when Emmett could feel his heart trying to pound it’s way out his chest at the mere thought of labor. “What did you expect me to do? Run to the hospital at the first sign of pain? I don’t think so; this is going to take hours yet and the last thing I need is Ted freaking out and hovering.”

Emmett gaped and then shook his head.

“Oh, hell, no,” he said, pulling out his wallet and throwing some bills on the table – more than enough to cover their bill and leave a substantial tip – and then stood.  “I love you, sweetie; but I did _not_ sign up for this. Let’s go.”

Blake just laughed and help up his hands in surrender; he stood and allowed Emmett to take his arm and hasten him out the door, and hopefully, to a hospital that could deal with this a lot better than he; pausing only momentarily to stare at Justin incredulously as he flagged down a waiter and said.

“Can I get this to go?”


	5. January 4 (Part Two)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **AN:** This vignette actually went longer than I intended, (I've been trying to shoot for less than 2000 words a day, and preferably no more than 1500), but I can't seem to cut anymore from it. Hopefully it doesn't read too choppy considering all the hacking I had to do to even get it to this length.

**January 4 (Part Two)**

“And don’t even get me started on his Twinkie obsession,” Brian groused, grimacing as he sipped his coffee. Christ; why the fuck couldn’t he get a decent fucking cup of coffee in this place? “I’ve literally found boxes of the damned things in the weirdest fucking places.”

Setting his cup down, he reached over and grabbed the sugar container, pouring in a generous amount in the hopes of curbing some of the burnt flavor. He didn’t hold out much hope, however; no one could ruin coffee like the Diner. He had no idea why he even ordered it when he knew it was for shit.

“Pickles,” Ted offered up for their ‘weird shit my pregnant spouse does’ rant. “As clichéd as it is, Blake is obsessed with pickles. He has to have pickles on everything. The last straw for me was when he topped his blueberry cheesecake with them. I had to leave.”

“You can’t be serious,” Drew said, his nose scrunched with disgust.

“Oh, he is,” Brian answered in place of Ted. “Eating with Justin these days in an adventure not meant for the faint of heart. Or stomach.”

Brian shuddered, thankful that Justin wasn’t there terrorizing them with his latest culinary creation. If he had to watch his husband doctor a perfectly good dish with something ‘extra,’ it might just put him off eating on a permanent basis.

“Blake wasn’t too bad,” Ted conceded, having been privy to Justin’s ‘creativity’ in the kitchen. “It was just the pickles or pickle juice, on fucking everything that got to me. I mean, who sprinkles pickle juice on popcorn?”

Brian stared incredulously at Ted, who just shrugged in a ‘what can you do’ manner and went back to his breakfast.

“I’ve since banned Twinkies from the house,” Brian added, scowling when Ted threw back his head and laughed at him.

“Good luck with that,” Ted snickered. “You can ban them all you want; they just get sneakier. I finally gave up. I figured, so long as he wasn’t eating something detrimental to the baby, I wasn’t going to worry about it. Besides, I’m quite fond of my dick remaining attached to my body, which his last threat featured if I didn’t ‘back the fuck off.’ His words not mine.”

Brian winced and reflexively squeezed his legs together; that was harsh and he hoped like hell that he’d never hear those words fall past Justin’s lips. Although, the little twat was as fond of his dick as he was, so he didn’t ever see _that_ being in the picture. That didn’t mean that the little shit wouldn’t get creative. His husband was devious and knew how to hold a grudge.

“Justin has threatened me so often, it’s lost its luster these days,” Brian said with false bravado, blatantly ignoring the knowing looks between his friends. “Besides it just adds a bit of spice to the bedroom. Trust me, you don’t know what you’re missing – leads to the best sex ever.”

“I’ll take your word for it,” Ted snorted as he wiped his mouth with a napkin. “Unlike _you_ ,” I don’t enjoy winding my partner up until they finally break and attack me. Forgive me for wanting to live through the experience.”

“Ha ha,” Brian snorted; he stared at his empty cup for a moment or two, grimaced and then flagged down the waiter for yet more coffee.

It might be for shit, but he had a feeling he was going to need it based on the pictures Emmett had sent of Justin’s sugar-laden ‘breakfast’. Pictures that he could have happily lived without; but, apparently, if Emmett had to suffer, then he was going to drag Brian along with him.

“You’re just _so_ hilarious, Theodore,” Brian drawled, deleting yet another text from Emmett without opening it. If it were anything important, Emmett would call him; so, this was just pure spite on his part. “Laugh while you can because in a week or so, you won’t even be able to remember your own name.”

“God, I hope it’s soon,” Ted whispered fervently, scrubbing a hand over his head. “He’s already a week overdue; and while he may be all sunshine and light around all of you, he’s not so composed at home.”

Brian snorted and arched a brow, but didn’t comment; he didn’t need to. Ted had been full of horror stories during their weekly meetings. It had almost been enough for him to reconsider the whole pregnancy thing.

“This morning was the worst,” he continued tiredly. “One minute he was all happy and bubbly about going to brunch with Em and Justin; and then I made an offhand remark about being out of something; you know, so that we could put it on the shopping list; and the next thing you know he’s raging at me for expecting too much of him.”

Brian chuckled and shook his head; rookie mistake. He should have just put it on the list and not said a damned thing.

“And then, when I explained I was just making a mental note to put on the shopping list,” Ted ranted, rubbing a hand over his brow. “He burst into tears and started apologizing for ‘thinking the worst of me.’ So, then, I tried to console him and tell him it wasn’t a problem; but that was all wrong too; as, apparently, by saying _that,_ it implied that it _could_ have been a problem.”

By this time Brian was laughing outright; he knew he should be more sympathetic to his friend’s plight given the fact he’d soon be in his shoes, but this was funny as shit.

Meanwhile, Drew just gaped and seemed to have a hard time grasping it. If he only knew that this was only the tip of the iceberg. Brian actually felt sorry for the boy if what he heard was true, and he and Emmett were talking babies. Because, if Blake was bad, and Justin a drama princess, he so didn’t want to see what the Queen of all Queens would be like while pregnant.

“So, he pouted the entire ride over to the café,” Ted finished with a heavy dose of exasperation. “Wouldn’t say a word to me; but as soon as he saw the two of them, he perked right back up and was his happy, cheerful self again.”

“I’m dreading when Justin hits that stage,” Brian admitted ruefully; Justin’s minor breakdown when he realized he couldn’t have three cups of his precious coffee every morning had been bad enough. “Personally, I’m just planning to keep chocolate in my brief case, so that when I run across one of these moods, I have a way to defuse them.”

Ted stared at Brian with no little amount of awe. “That is brilliant; why didn’t I think of that?”

“Because, while you are a brilliant numbers man, Theodore,” Brian smirked, chewing on his toothpick. “I am the best ad man in the state, if not on the entire East Coast. It’s my job to think of these things.”

“Isn’t that a bit manipulative?” Drew asked skeptically.

“Yes,” Brian said without a shred of remorse. “But you do what you have to do because _you_ aren’t the one carrying the baby. And if you’re at all attached to your dick, you will remember that.”

“Amen to that,” Ted fervently said, smirking at Drew’s doubtful expression.

Ah, to be so inexperienced; when you thought that there was no way you would ever employ such underhanded tactics on the one you loved, because they were reasonable human beings. But what Drew hadn’t yet realized, was that pregnant people were very rarely reasonable. He’d learn that lesson eventually.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Brian asked, arching an amused brow.

“I deal with Emmett’s crazy on a daily basis; it couldn’t be any worse than that.” Drew said with an unconcerned shrug.

Brian laughed at his naiveté and exchanged a knowing look with Ted.

“Ohhhh,” Ted said, shaking his head. “You did not just say that.”

“He did,” Brian snorted; heartily amused by Drew’s confused look. “But as with all that follow in our wake, we must allow our young padiwan to make his own mistakes. Good luck with that. If you think Justin is a drama princess, wait until you’ve seen a true Emmett queen out.”

Ted chuckled, and then opened his mouth to respond, but was halted when his phone lit up and started blaring _Dancing Queen._ Frowning, he quickly answered it, as there was only one person that could have that tone, and he was currently brunching with his very pregnant husband.

“Emmett?” Ted greeted, his brow pinching as he listened to whatever had Auntie Em in a tizzy now. “What do you mean he’s been in labor the entire time you’ve been eating breakfast? Why didn’t you take him to…” Ted paused, and then rolled his eyes skyward. “Of course, he didn’t tell you. So, where are you now?” There was another pause. “Ah, good, take him to West Penn. I’ll be there soon.”

Ted ended the call and hurriedly pulled out his wallet. Grabbing a stack of bills, he tossed them on the table before stuffing it back into his pocket.

“So,” Brian prompted impatiently as he grabbed his jacket.

“As you could have probably guessed, Blake is in labor,” Ted said, stating the obvious; Brian gave him a ‘well, duh’ look. Ted rolled his eyes and climbed out of the booth. “What he didn’t tell me, was that he has been in labor since about six this morning.”

“Well, that will do it,” Brian snorted as they headed for the door.

“Do what?” Ted asked, trying to find his keys.

“It’s likely why he was in such a mood this morning,” Brian said, rolling his eyes when Ted fumbled said keys and dropped them. “I can’t imagine that being very pleasant.”

“Well, he could have said something to me,” Ted griped as he stooped to pick up the keys and only to fumble them again.

“Christ, Schmidt; give me the fucking keys,” Brian groused, yanking them out of his hands and shoving him towards Drew, who ushered Ted into the passenger seat once Brian released the locks. “There is no way in hell I’m going to let you drive. I’d like to live to see my child born.”

Ted rolled his eyes, but remained silent for the entirety of the ride, too busy texting with Emmett to engage in any conversation; which suited Brian just fine. He knew the madness was just beginning and he wanted to enjoy the peace and quiet while he could. God knew he wouldn’t get that at the hospital.

In no time at all, they were pulling up to the hospital, and Brian dropped Ted off in front of the East Tower before parking the car near Justin’s SUV. Locking up the car, Brian swiftly made his up to the fifth floor waiting room, _and_ where he assumed that Justin would be waiting.

Stepping out of the elevator, Brian swiftly strode down the hall and paused, rolling his eyes at the scene before him. Justin was huddled in a corner with a tray containing French toast, country potatoes, milk, orange juice, a fruit cup and a pudding cup in front of him. On top of that, a nurse hovered nearby, asking if he needed anything else while she was up.

Justin flashed a bright smile and thanked her, before saying he was fine for now. The nurse smiled brightly, fluttering her lashes a bit, and then walked away, while Justin just kept eating as if his life depended on it.

“Why am I not surprised?” Brian asked as he strode over and threw himself into the chair next to him, shaking his head in amusement.

“What?” Justin said, just a bit defensively. He scowled and hovered over his food as if he expected Brian to take it away from him; which he wasn’t. He’d learned a long time ago not to get between the twat and his food. “Blake said this will take hours and I’m still hungry!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I need to address this upfront; when I first crafted the story, I was planning on male pregnancies being born through cesarean birth. And then I promptly forgot that, and kinda wrote myself in a corner when I wrote about Blake's labor taking hours yesterday. I was never planning to go the natural birth route, and thus never really thought of plausible reason men could give natural birth. And I honestly don't really want to go that deep into it, as that is not the point to this vignette series. So, since we are already suspending reality to accept that male pregnancy is a thing, we'll just also have to do that now and accept that for some reason, men are quite capable of giving natural birth. I'll leave it up to you very fertile imaginations.


	6. January 4 (Part Three)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **AN:** So, my beta pointed out that by putting the dates on the drabbles, it might be confusing for some as they would think that date on top matched up to the date of the events. I have since deleted them and will be editing those to reflect the appropriate timestamp of the universe, rather than what day I am on.

**January 4 (Part Three)**

Justin happily made his way down the hall, practically skipping as he sucked on the very delicious frozen fruit bar that the lovely nurse at the desk had given him. He’d originally gone to the bathroom and then stopped by the nurses’ station to see if there was any news on Blake, when Sherri, being pregnant herself, asked when he was due. It lead to a full-on conversation about their various cravings and he’d admitted to have been craving strawberries, but hadn’t gotten any as they were out of season and didn’t taste right.

She had grinned, remembering her own strawberry craving about a mouth before and shared her secret with him – Whole Fruit frozen fruit bars in strawberry. It was perfect, with chunks of real strawberries and had the perfect sweetness to tartness ratio that Justin had been looking for.

He _so_ had to go out and buy a couple of boxes to stash at home; and given they were only seventy calories each, Brian couldn’t complain. Too much.

Rounding the corner, Justin was about to enter the waiting room, when a conversation between Brian and Em stopped him short.

“Where’s Baby?” Em asked, fiddling with a bag by his feet. “I have a present for him, but we got interrupted before I could give it to him earlier.”

Justin smiled; that was sweet of Em. And come to think of it; he did remember Em bringing a gift bag with him to the café.

“He said something about going to the bathroom,” Brian muttered, scrolling through his phone with a frown.

“And you’re not hovering over him?” Em asked, an arch smile on his face.

“What do you expect me to do? Hold it for him?” Brian drawled sarcastically, obviously still put out that Justin had told him not to follow him unless he wanted to sleep in the den that night. “He’s a big boy; he can do it himself.”

“Hasn’t stopped you before,” Em snorted, and then paused before casting a knowing glance Brian’s way. “Unless…”

Em trailed off and looked thoughtful.

“Unless what, Honeycutt?” Brian bit out impatiently.

“Don’t call me Honeycutt!” Em said with no little exasperation; he huffed and then teased with a sly smile. “My guess is that you tried to follow him and he quickly put his foot down and told you in no uncertain terms to back the fuck off.”

Brian just scowled and didn’t deem that worth a response.

“I thought so,” Em said, a smug smile curling on his lips; which only made Brian’s face darken with irritation.

“Shut up, Honeycutt,” Brian muttered, huffing when Em just chuckled.

Em didn’t respond. Instead, he picked up a magazine and started flipping through it, a smirk on his face. He had just settled on an article, and Justin was just about to join them, when Em's words caught up with Brian.

“Wait, you said you had a present for Justin?” his husband said, casting a sharp, suspicious glance at Em.

“Yup, I found the most adorable outfits when I went shopping the other day and I just _had_ to pick them up for my Baby,” Em gushed, prattling on about the new store on Liberty Avenue that sold the most ingenious things for a few minutes before he'd noticed Brian’s stare and quieted.

“Let me see them,” Brian demanded implacably, holding his hand out for the bag. And Justin could tell by both of their expressions that this would not end well.

“I’d rather wait until Justin is here,” Em said a bit stiffly, holding said bag to his chest in a protective manner; which was a bad move if he was trying to assuage Brian’s suspicions.

“Which means you know I’ll disapprove,” Brian said, arching an imperious brow. “Hand them over, Honeycutt.”

Em just stared at the outstretched hand, a disgruntled moue on his face, before he sighed explosively and handed the bag over with ill grace.

“Fine,” Em huffed, crossing his arms over his chest as Brian snatched the bag out of his hand. “But you better not do anything to them, or so help me God, Kinney, I will tell Justin about the Twinkie thing.”

Justin barely bit back a chortle as Brian gave Em a dirty look, and made a mental note to ask about the Twinkie thing. Because if Brian thought he was actually going to prevent him from eating his favorite treat, he had another serious think coming to him. He will _find_ a way.

After leveling Em with the full weight of a patented Kinney Glare of Doom, Brian turned back to the bag and started pulling the outfits out one by one, for four in total. Justin did snigger then as, while he thought they were kind of cute, Brian looked completely horrified by the rainbow spectacle.

The first was a one-piece, short-sleeved, [bodysuit](https://imgur.com/xNRpdZe) that said, _After every storm there is a rainbow of hope. Here I am!_ The second was an entire [outfit](https://imgur.com/H0W2dGA) with bodysuit that said, _Love Made Me_ and came with white leggings that had rainbow stripes on them, with matching head wrap and a little hat.

The third was an [outfit of a similar vein](https://imgur.com/d5SFfjC), but with an added hair ribbon, and the bodysuit said, _Rainbow Baby._ And Justin thought for sure that Brian was going to have an aneurism when he pulled that one out. He could just see the cogs in his head whirring as he wondered how he could dispose of it with Em being none the wiser.

And the final one was a [blue sleeper](https://imgur.com/bu52v6h) that had rainbows and raining clouds all over it.  Again, Justin thought it was cute, but could see by Brian’s aghast look; Justin needed to get his ass in there to defuse the situation before Brian strangled Em with a pair of the leggings.

“Oh, Em, these are so cute,” Justin cooed, cementing Brian’s sour expression, as he knew damned well, there was no way in hell he could get rid of them now.

Huffing, Brian stuffed the outfits none to gently into the bag and set it aside, while Em beamed in pleasure. And then he homed in on the ice cream in Justin’s hand, his exasperation visibly growing as Justin licked it and then popped it back into his mouth and took a small bite, humming in pleasure as the taste of strawberries exploded over his tongue.

“What the fuck are you eating now?” Brian demanded.

“A fruit bar?” Justin said, his voice lilting into a question at the end, as he thought it was pretty damned obvious what it he was eating.

“Where the hell did you get that?” Brian asked as he rolled his eyes. “I thought you were going to the bathroom?”

"I did,” Justin nodded and crossed the room to sit next to his husband. “And then I stopped by the nurses’ station to ask about Blake and Sherri gave it to me.”

“Who the hell is Sherri?” Brian groused, huffing when Justin offered him a bit of his very delicious treat, but he did take a small bite nonetheless. Really, he should be happy that Justin was sharing. He could have kept the strawberry goodness all to himself.

“The charge nurse,” Justin chirped, happily going back to his fruit bar and blatantly ignoring Brian’s incredulous look.

"It's the smile," Em chimed in, snickering when Brian just scowled. "All he did was smile at them, and they've been fawning over him ever since."

“I thought I told you to only use your twink powers against the forces of evil?” Brian said, his tongue firmly pressed in his cheek.

"I can't help that I'm adorable and pregnant at the same time” Justin preened, again, ignoring Brian’s snort. He really did need to buy more of these. “It makes everyone want to coddle me."


	7. January 4 (Part Four)

**January 4 (Part Four)**

“Oh, Blake,” Justin whispered, his eyes misting over as he stared down at the [little blue bundle with a full head of dark hair](https://imgur.com/2zktqJp). Brian would have rolled his eyes at his sentimental twat, but even _he_ was feeling a bit choked up. “He’s perfect.”

“He better be after nearly fifteen hours of labor,” Blake muttered, making the rest of the room laugh; and then he smiled tiredly as Ted took the new arrival from his arms and then promptly place him into Justin’s.

“I’m sure it was worth it in the end,” Justin said, cooing when two blurry baby-blue eyes opened and stared at him for a moment before closing once again.

“I don’t know about that,” Ted muttered, obviously not meaning to be overheard, and then yelped when Blake reached out and pinched him

“Are you saying our child is less than perfect?” Blake demanded, a mock frown on his face.

“Not at all, honey,” Ted said, watching his husband nervously. “I would’ve just preferred that you had left some feeling in my hand.”

Several people snorted, including Blake.

“That’s why you’re supposed to send some other sap in your place for the hard parts, Theodore,” Brian said, coming up behind Justin to study the baby in his arms; he smiled and couldn’t wait to see their own little Sunbeam in Justin’s arms. “And conveniently show up for the end.”

“Oh hell no,” Justin retorted, pinning Brian in place with the evil eye; Brian just grinned, showing he wasn’t serious. “If you aren’t there with me from the very beginning, I will hunt you down like the dog that you are and drag your ass back to the hospital with me. And if I have to do that, you will not like me at the end of it all.”

“You go, Baby,” Emmett snorted as he went through the stack of cards and gifts piled on a table by the bed and entering them into some book. “You tell him who's the boss.”

“Shut up, Honeycutt,” Brian said without heat, still too busy watching Justin, who, in turn, was watching and cooing over the baby.

“Besides, it’s not like he’d ever do that anyways,” Ted said as he claimed his son once more.

“Thank you, Ted,” Brian said, wrapping his arms around Justin’s waist and pressing a kiss to his temple when he leaned into Brian. “It’s nice that someone has faith in me.”

“Justin would only have to threaten to deny him sex once and that would immediately pull him back into line,” Ted smirked, taking the baby over to the table to change him.

“Ha ha,” Brian laughed mockingly, while flipping off the room in general; his jackass friends just laughed. “I’m surrounded by fucking comedians.”

“So, have you decided on a name?” Justin asked, looking at Blake.

“Well, after much consideration…” Ted said as he tossed the diaper into the trash, but was quickly cut off by a snort.

“Consideration, my ass,” Blake griped, casting an exasperated look at his husband. “Do you know what he wanted for a name?”

“I’m afraid to ask,” Emmett said, looking between the two of them.

“Bill S. Preston, Esquire,” Blake said, rolling his eyes. Brian guffawed and pressed his face into Justin’s shoulder to hold back another laugh, while the rest of the room looked confused. Fuck, he’d forgotten how young some of them were. “What the S stood for, I have no idea, but I put a stop to that real fast.”

“Were you trying to get your kid beat up?” Justin asked, watching Brian’s reaction with utter bewilderment.

“What? Bill is a good, solid name,” Ted defended; he swaddled up the baby once more and reached for the bottle a nurse had brought in a few minutes before.

“Yeah, it’s everything that follows that says, ‘please stuff me into a locker because I’m a mommy’s boy,’” Brian snickered; he rolled his eyes at Ted’s complete and utter nerdiness factor.

“Don’t you mean daddy?” Emmett asked with a wry smile.

“Nope, I meant exactly what I said; I mean with Ted…” Brian yelped and trailed off as Justin jabbed him in the gut with one of his pointy, little elbows. Twat. He’d deal with him later. “And really, Theodore? Bill S. Preston, Esquire? I can’t believe I’m even acquainted with you, let alone friends.”

“Hey, it was a cool movie!” Ted exclaimed, his chin jutting out defiantly. “My friend William and I went and saw that movie like nine times.”

“You are such a geek,” Brian mocked, laughing when Ted moved his hand just enough to flip him off. “I don’t even have words.”

“Well who was the only one that recognized it, huh?” Ted said, arching a brow.

“One word - Mikey,” Brian smirked, remembering when Mikey dragged him to see the movie, claiming as best friends it was something they just had to see. “Like I said…geek.”

“What movie?” Justin asked, still looking perplexed.

“Nothing you’d care to see, sonny boy,” Brian whispered, skillfully dodging another pointy elbow. “It came out when you were but a wee sprite. I doubt your mommy would have let you see it.”

Justin didn’t even bother to answer; he just flipped him off much to the entire room’s amusement.

“Later,” Brian promised, tucking his tongue in his cheek.

“I think we’ve gotten a bit off track,” Emmett said, looking back at Ted, who was rubbing the baby’s back, and Blake. “So, what is his name, honey?”

“Luciano Andrea Schmidt,” Ted stated with a proud smile; and all Brian could think was, _’that poor, fucking kid._

“That’s a hell of a name to live up to,” Justin said slowly, ever the diplomat. He and his WASP manners were going to be the death of Brian. “But suiting I think.”

“But we’ll merely call him Luc for now,” Blake assured them, exchanging a knowledgeable look with Brian, who managed to hold his tongue this time.

“Well, I think he is just too precious,” Emmett cooed, looking down into little Luc’s face as Ted wiped his mouth.

“Want to hold him Mr. Godfather,” Ted asked, smirking when Emmett just stared at him, utterly speechless for once.

“Oh, what; me?”  Emmett squeaked, fluttering his hand in front of his chest. “Really?”

“If you’ll accept it,” Ted nodded, handing the baby over to Emmett.

“Oh, I’d be delighted, honey; you know that.” Emmett whispered, his voice choked with tears as he smoothed a finger over Luc’s cheek.

“So, who gets the honor of Godmother?” Justin asked; and then smiled when Brian shifted him into a much more comfortable position and slid his hand under his shirt to splay over his tummy.

“Mel,” Ted said as he watched Emmett coo over his son.  “I asked her a few days ago.” He paused and looked around with a frown. “Speaking of, where are the girls?”

“Who the fuck knows,” Brian groused, bringing all eyes to him in surprise; he grimaced and explained. “They were standing in the corner over there whispering to each other furiously while Blake was snoozing. I told them if they wanted to snipe at each other to take it into the fucking hallway so they didn’t wake him up.”

“I swear to God, those two,” Emmett sighed, rolling his eyes in exasperation. “If I weren’t such a well brought up lady, I would have smacked them both for their attitudes lately.”

“So, what’s their problem now?” Blake asked grimly, well versed in the ups and downs of their favorite munchers; or currently, Brian’s least favorite, but he planned to keep that little tidbit of knowledge to himself.

“Me,” Justin admitted softly; almost too low for the others to hear.

“Justin…” Brian started, but trailed off when Justin just shook his head.

“You know it’s true,” Justin said, fixing him with his patented ‘I’m on to you,’ looks. “Lindsay has been a complete pain in the ass to everyone since our announcement.”

Brian scoffed, and pulled Justin tighter to him, wanting to protect him from his friend’s selfish and idiotic behavior. “Well she can go be a pain in Mel’s ass, because I’m not putting up with it anymore; and if she gives you any shit, you tell her to butt the fuck out. If she wants to play mommy, she can go to find some idiot to provide her sperm, grab the turkey baster and shoot it up her twat. This is our turn and she can fuck right off.”

“Oh, fuck, Brian; TMI,“ Ted grimaced and looked a bit green around the edges; actually, everyone looked a little green. Go him. “Must you? I really didn’t need that visual.”

“Tell us how you really feel, honey,” Emmett said, eyeing him a wry smirk; and then back to Ted with a much more genuine smile. “Anywho, I accept. Of course, I do; like you even had to ask.”

“Well, since that’s settled,” Justin said, a bright smile on his face; and then displaying his WASPy manners again, said. “I think it’s time we give the family have a bit of time alone. Besides I don’t know about any of you, but I am in desperate need of a snack."


	8. January 7

**January 7**

Gus waved to his Auntie Em and quickly ran over to the Liberty Diner, happy to escape the tension that had enveloped his house since his Dad and Jus had announced the new baby. He wasn’t quite sure why this would affect either of his mothers; his Mama especially, but she’d had her nose out of joint ever since, as Grandmom Deb would say, and he could tell his Eema was getting fed up with it.

It had led to many a hushed argument behind closed doors; or, well, what he supposed _they'd_ called hushed, but usually meant that he and Jenny had to put their earphones in to stand any chance of concentrating on their homework. Even through that, he’d heard the words ‘ _first pregnancy_ ,’ and ‘ _who better to give advice than someone who’s been through it_ ,’ and ‘ _need to mind your own business_ ,’ and rolled his eyes.

As if Jus hadn’t already done all the research that he needed before getting pregnant; and if he hadn’t, then his Dad surely had.

Pausing at the door, Gus quickly scanned the dining room for his Grandmom Deb, and sighed with relief when he didn’t see her. It wasn’t that he didn’t love her to death, but he was getting kind of old to be coddled and she couldn’t help squeezing him like she hadn’t seen him in years instead of days each and every time he came in. It was kind of embarrassing, especially when Kiki and the others joined in and started cooing over how handsome he was and how he was going to be a heartbreaker just like his Dad.

And then the patrons would take bets on when, and if, he was going to be joining the Avenue. And really, he had just started realizing his dick was for more than peeing; he had no idea who he even liked yet.

It was beyond mortifying, and he would tell each, and every, one of them to fuck off if he wasn’t well aware than his Grandmom Deb would drag him to the bathroom to wash his mouth out with soap. Plus, Jus would set them all straight with nothing more than a glare and a well-placed word.

They all seemed rather intimidated by him for some reason, calling him the ‘little twink that tamed the big bad.’ He supposed that they meant his Dad when the said that, and Gus wanted to yell, ‘Well, duh!’ Have you seen my Jus? Dad never stood a chance.

But, thankfully, Grandmom Deb was busy, and if he timed it just right, he could make it to the booth before she came out of the office.

Opening the door, Gus quietly slipped in and made his way to the back booth, where his Dad was already sitting, grimacing and drinking a cup of coffee. He hurried over to him, keeping a close eye on the office and then froze when a familiar voice called out behind him.

“Gussy!” Grandmom Deb exclaimed as she came out of the bathroom area; Gus groaned, glaring at his Dad when he snickered, and turned around with a smile pasted onto this face.

“Hi, Grandmom Deb,” he managed to get out before he was being engulfed in a breath-stealing hug; and really, boa constrictors could learn a thing or two from Grandmom Deb’s hugs.

“Jesus, Deb,” his Dad called out much to Gus’ relief. “Give the kid a chance to breathe. He isn’t much good to me if he’s dead.”

“Oh, hush, you,” Grandmom Deb said, leaving off the customary ‘asshole’ that usually followed that statement; as, for some reason, she was hesitant to call him such in front of Gus.

Now if only she would stop it completely; Jus absolutely hated that she still referred to him as such and having been present for a couple of his pregnancy queen outs, (the coffee one the most notable of those), he didn’t think Jus would be very understanding of Grandmom Deb’s little nickname.

“There is nothing wrong with wanting to hug my grandchild,” she continued, but did loosen her death grip, so cheers for that. “He loves it, don’t you sweetheart.”

His Dad just snorted, but Gus just nodded as expected. He really wanted to say no, but he didn’t want to hurt her feelings either. Dad was always bitching to Jus about how Grandmom Deb could hold a grudge worse than he did, and since Gus was well aware of how bad his Jus was about forgiving those he’d felt slighted him or Dad in some way, he didn’t even want to go there.

“Right,” Dad drawled, looking up and smiling when the newest server, Jason, set a couple of plates down on the table. “Release the kid, so I can feed his bottomless pit of a stomach, Deb. If you weren’t the spitting image of me, Sonny Boy; I would swear you were Justin’s kid with that appetite.”

“I’ll put in for your usual, kiddo,” Grandmom Deb said as she let go, ruffling his hair much to his annoyance.

“We just enjoy our food,” Gus retorted as he finally managed to get away from his grandmother. He walked over and slid into the booth across from his Dad. “Not everyone is as picky as you.”

“And some of us want to live to see their next birthday,” his Dad snickered, reaching over to ruffle his hair again. And seriously, what was it with people and his hair?  “By the way, nice try there, Sonny Boy; you should know by now that Grandmom Deb has a sixth sense for these things.”

“One of these days it will work,” Gus insisted, ignoring his Dad’s amused glance. He looked around. “Where’s Jus?”

“The bathroom; where else?” Dad said as he rolled his eyes. “I swear he spends nearly as much time in there as he does eating these days.”

“Ah,” Gus nodded; quite used to it by now.

“So, you managed to escape,” his Dad said, fixing him with a questioning look. “And asked to meet me on a night that I don’t usually have you; everything going okay at home?”

“Just the usual,” Gus grimaced, toying with the hem of his sweater. His Dad arched a brow, telling him that explanation wouldn’t cut it. “The moms…are arguing again. But not the usual stuff. They seem to be arguing about Jus and his pregnancy, but I don’t know why it’s any of their business.”

“Ah,” his Dad said, a grim smile on his face. “I couldn’t tell you, Sonny Boy. It really isn’t anyone’s business except for me, Jus and you. And maybe Jenny.”

“I just needed to leave for awhile,” Gus said with a shrug. “It was getting a bit much. I just wish I could have brought Jenny; but Eema has plans to take her shopping for a project tonight. If they ever stop arguing.”

“Well, after dinner, we’ll give your moms a call,” his Dad said, a pensive frown on his face. “And if they are still arguing, we’ll pick up Jenny and take her shopping for what she needs; and then we’ll have dessert somewhere, and get you back home just before bedtime.  You have done your homework, right?”

“Yeah, I did it after school before the moms picked us up,” Gus said with a smile. “I made sure that Jenny did hers too.”

“Good man,” his Dad said, and then fell silent as he sipped his coffee.

Gus shifted in his seat, his eyes falling on the massive plate of food that had just been delivered. Judging by the heaps of meatloaf and mashed potatoes, and the mound of green beans, Gus figured that it was for Jus. His Dad would never eat anything remotely like it at this time of night. Licking his lips, he bit the lower one when his stomach growled and reached for the plate. He figured Jus wouldn’t care if he had a bite or two to tide him over until his burger came.

“I wouldn’t if I were you,” His Dad said, watching him with an amused look.

“Why not? I’m starving and Jus won’t mind if I take a bite,” Gus justified, even as he took a healthy scoop of the mashed potatoes and gravy. There was so much food there, it wasn’t like Jus would notice.

“Because it _is Jus’_ and by now you should realize that isn’t…” his Dad said, and then trailed off and smacked his hand against his forehead as Gus shoved the spoon into his mouth.

Gus chewed a bit, and then his eyes bulged as he realized that what he’d mistaken for gravy definitely was _not_. Grimacing he hurriedly finished chewing and forced himself to swallow. He frantically grabbed the glass of water in front of his Dad, and quickly gulped the entire thing down in an effort to purge the horrific taste in his mouth, glaring when his Dad broke down into laughter.

“Isn’t gravy,” his Dad finished between guffaws. “I tried to warn you.”

“OH my God, that’s so gross!” Gus exclaimed, looking at the plate of food as if had betrayed him, because fuck, who on Earth would put _that_ on potatoes?

“I guess next time, you’ll listen to your father,” his Dad said, still snickering at his pain.

Gus just continued to make faces as he tried to wash the taste out of his mouth, and his Dad kept laughing at him, until Jus finally came back to the table.

“What’s wrong?” Jus asked, looking between the two of them as he slid into the booth next to Gus.

“Sonny boy here was starving and couldn’t wait for his burger to arrive,” his Dad smirked, laughing when Gus just made another disgusted face. “So he decided to steal a bite of your potatoes.”

“Oh,” Jus said, still confused by why that would matter; he leaned back to let Jason place Gus’ order in front of him. “So, what’s wrong with that? He’s been doing it since he was two. Hell, he learned it from you.”

“I think it was more that he didn’t appreciate your choice of condiment,” his Dad explained, laughing when instead saying anything, Gus just took a huge bite of his cheeseburger and groaned, savoring the beautiful taste of meat and cheese and ketchup washing away that nastiness.

“What’s wrong with milk chocolate syrup?” Jus asked, his eyes sparkling with mischief as he tucked his tongue in his cheek.

His Dad just looked at Jus incredulously, but refrained from saying anything as he was well aware that Jus was yanking his chain.

“Ugh…” Gus said once his mouth wasn’t full of burger. “I’m not touching your food until you’re over this pregnancy nonsense.”

“Wise choice, Sonny Boy,” his Dad smirked, and then shuddered when Jus took a huge bit of his potatoes and made a happy sound.

Gus just crinkled his nose and vowed he was never going to get pregnant if that’s what one could expect. It turned normally cool people into weirdos.


	9. January 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, first off, I want to apologize for my absence; while I have been writing daily for this story, I had an internet issue that couldn't be resolved until today when the money became available. So, to make up for it, I will be posting two vignettes today, tomorrow and Sunday until I am caught up to date. Again, my apologies on the delay.

**January 9 – 18 weeks**

Justin lay back on the table and got comfortable before rolling up his shirt and pushing his pants down until they were low on his hips. He smiled at Brian, his own excitement shining back at him as the tech got everything ready for their ultrasound. They were supposed to have done this during their last visit, but something on the machine had malfunctioned; and by the time it was up and running once more, Justin had to leave because he was meeting his agent.

And, given the fact that he’d already cancelled on her once due to morning sickness, he really wasn’t up to incurring her wrath by doing it again so soon; thus they made another appointment for the ultrasound. Luckily, his doctor had managed to squeeze them in today, and he couldn’t wait. They’d already been through this once before early in his first trimester; but today, if Sunbeam allowed it, they would be able to determine the sex.

Something that been a debate and a half the moment that Justin had brought it up; he and Brian had been torn on whether or not they wanted the tech to reveal the gender.

Justin had been firmly on the side of being surprised; he’d already planned out a gender-neutral nursery with a [forest mural for the walls, filled with baby animals, and a morning sky for the ceiling](https://imgur.com/E7rvIDB). So, it wasn’t like the gender was necessary for his plans. Brian, on the other hand, was on the side of knowing, so they could plan properly and supplement whatever clothing and toys they got from the gang with more gender-based items.

It had been a long, heated debate, until finally; Justin had given in and agreed that he could see the sense of being prepared. But he had gotten Brian to agree that they would leave the family in the dark. He just thought it would be much more fun for everyone if they made a game of it. Plus, there was a pool going on at the diner for what the gender, day of birth and hour of birth would be, and the pot was growing daily.

“Alright, Justin,” Amy, the tech said, grabbing a bottle of gel. “I think we’re just about ready here. Shall we get you lubed up?”

Brian snickered at the wording, his tongue firmly planted into his cheek as he smirked at Justin. For his part, Justin just rolled his eyes and huffed at his husband’s one-track mind. Amy giggled, quite used to their banter by now, and squirted a large dollop of gel onto the middle of his stomach, making Justin hiss.

“Fuck that’s cold,” he said, shivering at the coolness of the gel.

“It will warm up,” Amy reassured him with a smile, making Brian snort.

“Don’t say it,” Justin said, pointing a warning finger at his husband.

“I have no idea what you mean,” Brian said, all faux innocence.

“Please,“ Justin snorted, resting his hand back on his shirt. “You aren’t fooling anyone with that smile, buster.”

Brian held his hands out in supplication and then turned his attention to Amy, who was pointing out the two screens where the images could be seen – one directly across from where Brian was sitting and the other on the wall in front of Justin.

“Shall we get started?” Amy asked, and then laughed when Justin nearly gave himself whiplash when he nodded in agreement. She put the wand on his stomach and moved it around a bit, lubing his stomach up and making Justin flinch as it was still a bit cool.

And then the monitor lit up and Justin didn’t care as his baby flickered to life on the screen. Choked up, his hand flew to Brian’s and grabbed it, needing something to anchor him as he stared at the tiny life they’d created. Flicking a glance over at his husband, he smiled shakily when he saw that, he too, was just as moved, his eyes bright with unshed tears as he stared at the screen.

Justin turned back to the screen, and couldn’t help but laugh with delight as the baby squirmed in his belly, and he could almost imagine he felt that. A tiny little hand appeared, splayed open, almost as if greeting its observers.

“Wow, someone sure is active today,” Amy said with a grin as the baby shifted again.

“Just like _his_ papa,” Brian smirked, casting a mischievous glance Justin’s way; emphasizing the gender as it had been an ongoing debate between the two of them. Brian thought Sunbeam was a boy; Justin, on the other hand, was certain Sunbeam was a girl. “Can’t stay still to save his life.”

“Ha ha,” Justin mock laughed and rolled his eyes. “You’re as hilarious as ever, darling.”

Amy laughed and then pointed at the screen. “I see we have a little hand here. Awww…it looks like he’s waving to his daddies. And there are his four little fingers and... oh, looks like he’s closing them.”

“Is Sunbeam giving us a thumbs up?” Justin asked, squinting at the screen.

“Yeah, that definitely looks like a thumbs up to me,” Amy said with a giggle.

“See, even Sunbeam agrees with me, Sunshine,” Brian snickered, quickly dodging the slap Justin sent his way.

“Asshole,” Justin grumbled, but then went back to watching Sunbeam.

“You see that round thing right here; that is the baby’s head,” Amy said, tracing her finger over the indicated area.  “And here is Sunbeam’s tummy.”

“Wow, that’s kind of a big head, isn’t it?” Brian cut in, sounding a bit concerned.

“Takes after _her_ daddy,” Justin drawled, paying his husband back in kind; and then yelped when Brian pinched him on the arm. “Ow! Spousal abuse!”

“I’ll show you spousal abuse later, twat,” Brian whispered in his ear, sending a shiver of anticipation tripping down his spine.

Amy laughed as she swished the wand a bit. “It’s perfectly normal at this stage, I assure you. Continuing on, see this fluttering thing right here – that is your baby’s heart. Shall we give it a listen?”

“Yes, please,” Justin nodded his hand squeezing Brian’s in his excitement; Brian’s squeezed back just as tightly as the sound of Sunbeam’s heartbeat surrounded them.

Justin closed his eyes, his throat constricting as that precious sound filled the room; he couldn’t hold back the tears any longer and one slid down his cheek. Sniffling, he startled when he felt a light touch on his face and opened his eyes to meet misty hazel as Brian desperately fought back tears of his own. Brian brushed the tear away and mouthed, _’I love you,’_ before turning back to the screen.

Accepting a tissue from Amy, Justin dabbed at his eyes and returned his attention back to the monitor, where Sunbeam was once again moving around. He heard a click as Amy took  several screenshots for them to have later, along with the video.

“Hmmm…I was hoping that hearing the heartbeat would settle Sunbeam down,” Amy said as she flicked the sound off. “Often times the sound will soothe them and they’ll calm down; but it looks like Sunbeam is being a bit stubborn.”

“Like I said, just like _his_ Papa,” Brian said, tongue in cheek.

“Oh, like you’re one to talk, Mr. Taylor-Kinney,” Justin retorted, pinching him in the side. “I’m pretty sure you invented the phase ‘stubborn as a mule.’”

“And that’s a nice, strong heartbeat, fluctuating between 145-150 beats per minute,” Amy said, cutting off their banter before they could get started again. A wise move, otherwise they’d never get done. “Which is right where we want it to be. So, were you hoping to find out the sex today?”

“Yes,” Justin said, a bit grudgingly; he still thought it would be fun to be surprised, but he had agreed and he’d stick to his word. Amy looked between the two of them questioningly and Justin smiled and nodded, waving off her concern. “We do want to find out if Sunbeam will let us.

“Okay,” Amy nodded; moving the wand around, trying to get a better view, but Sunbeam just kept shifting. “Such stubborn little tyke today. “

Justin shot Brian a warning glance and Brian just grinned and mimed a zipping motion over his lips.

“Can you shift to the other side, Justin,” Amy asked, pulling the wand away so that Justin could move on to his left side. “Maybe if we come at it this way, we’ll have better luck.”

Justin watched the screen from his new position, laughing as Amy tried and failed to get a clear vision of the baby’s genitals, until finally, she pressed the wand a bit firmer into Justin’s side and suddenly Sunbeam shifted.

“Ah, there we go!” Amy cried gleefully. “I thought that might do it; alright, are you boys ready to know what you’re having?”

**… … … … …**

Justin and Brian walked out of the doctor’s office, Justin tucked under Brian’s arm so that his husband could steer him as he beamed down at the stack of pictures in his hands. God, Sunbeam was already so beautiful to him and he couldn’t believe that this was really happening. It still seemed a bit surreal to him.

Only, now that they knew what they were having, he was feeling a bit guilty about not telling the others. He wanted to shout the news from the rooftop, but at the same time, he also wanted to tease his family just a little for all the hovering. Chewing on his bottom lip, he turned to Brian.

“I’ve been thinking,” he said, and then paused, making Brian turn to him in concern. “Should we tell everyone the gender? I mean, part of me really wants them to suffer because of all this hovering nonsense; but the other part of me wants to stand on top of Babylon and shout it to the world.”

Brian laughed and kissed his cheek.

“Nah,” Brian snickered, pulling him tighter into his body. “Let them suffer. Besides, I hear that the pot has reached over five thousand recently; why spoil their fun? It will give someone a nice chunk of change if they can nail the sex, date and hour of birth.”

Justin chewed on his bottom lip some more and then nodded.

“You realize Deb is going to kill us,” Justin said with a grimace.

“Are you kidding?” Brian snorted as they came up to Justin’s SUV. “Who do you think started the pool? She’s set to make a mint off of this the longer it goes.” He paused to open the car door for Justin; and then continued as Justin got in. “Mother Taylor on the other hand; that is all on you, Sunshine.”


	10. January 10

**January 10**

Brian stamped his feet on doormat to get any loose snow of his shoes and cursed under his breath once more for having forgotten the garage remote this morning. Something he fully blamed on Justin as he’d been the one who’d stolen it out of brian’s car in the first place. And then, to make matters worse, had distracted him by being all warm and cute and cuddly under his mound of blankets, so that Brian hadn’t even been thinking of work or the very early staff meeting he’d scheduled; and subsequently had to rush to when Cynthia had called to remind him to bring the financial printouts with him.

So, he’d run around, getting dressed to the track of his giggling, oh-so-sympathetic husband, who just buried himself back under the blankets after Brian’s mad dash out of bed. It then led to him leaving the opener by the front door, since he grabbed his secondary set of keys from the den instead to save time when he picked up the necessary financials.

See, all Justin’s fault.

He opened the door and walked into the house, setting his briefcase down on the table by it as he nudged the door closed with his foot. Pulling of his jacket, he hung it on the coat rack and followed his nose toward the kitchen, his mouth watering when he saw Justin plating up some roasted veggies and grilled salmon.

“Hey, honey, I’m home!” Brian chirped, tongue in cheek, smirking when Justin rolled his eyes and walked over to place their plates on the table.

“Fuck off,” he snorted, and then squirmed when Brian came up behind him, wrapped his arms around his waist and pressed a kiss to his neck.

“What no kiss from the little….” Brian snickered, and then grunted when Justin dug his elbow into his ribs.

“If you want to keep your remaining ball,” Justin said, giving him the evil eye. “I’d suggest you not finish that sentence.”

Brian laughed, but wisely remained silent; Justin was still sore over some comment he’d overheard while they were shopping the other day, (and boy had that idiot run like the hounds of hell were after him once Justin got through with him); and Brian was quite fond of his dick and balls being right where they should be. There was no way in hell he was going to test his husband’s resolve on this matter.

Pressing soft kisses along Justin’s neck, Brian smiled against his skin when Justin sighed in contentment and leaned back into his body for a moment, before turning around to give Brian a thorough welcome home kiss. Sighing, Brian pulled back as air became necessary and rested his brow to Justin’s and allowed the tension from the day to slip away.

Justin tightened his arms around Brian’s waist, stood on tiptoe to press his lips to Brian’s forehead and then wiggled out of brian’s arms. Reluctantly, Brian let his husband go and sat down at the table, while Justin grabbed a salad and the shallot vinaigrette from the refrigerator. He tossed the salad with the vinaigrette, set it on the table and sat down next to Brian.

He’d been doing that a lot lately; rather than sitting across or kitty corner to him, Justin would snuggle up to Brian, his hand somewhere on his body, saying that he just wanted to be as close as possible to him. Personally, Brian thought the little tease was just trying to drive him mad with desire as his hormones had kicked up another notch recently.

“So, I saw Ted today,” Brian said, cutting into his salmon with his fork, and then popped it in his mouth, groaning when the taste of chile, lime, cumin and cilantro burst across his tongue. God, Justin was the best cook.

“Oh?” Justin asked, a pleased smile sliding across his face as Brian continued to verbalize his appreciation. “Where at? I thought he and Blake were planning to stick around home until Luc’s one month check up before venturing out.”

“At the office,” Brian said a bit absentmindedly, far too caught up in his meal to notice Justin’s frown at those words. “He showed up for the weekly staff meeting at the last minute looking like death warmed over.”

“Brian!” Justin chided, startling Brian until he thought back on what he said. “Please tell me you didn’t drag that poor man…”

“Hey, not my fault,” Brian cut in with a frown. “I told him to stay at home.” Justin flushed and sent him a sheepish smile. “What we didn’t count on was Ted being a helicopter parent and Blake, fed up with his constant hovering, kicked him out and told him not to come back for a few hours.”

Justin snickered and went back to his meal. “I can see that; he’s definitely worse than you when it comes to fretting.”

“Fretting?” Brian huffed, casting a mock offended look at his husband; Justin just sniggered in response. “I do _not_ fret, fuck you very much. Fuck, you make me sound like someone’s maiden great aunt. With you, it’s a legitimate concern I’ll have you know; considering how well aware I am of your penchant for getting yourself into trouble.

“Don’t listen to Daddy, Sunbeam,” Justin said, patting his stomach as he addressed Sunbeam. “He totally frets even if he calls it by another name.”

“Lies, Sunbeam, all lies,” Brian snorted, and then turned in his chair and leaned down to kiss Justin’s stomach. Justin giggled and squirmed. Brian smirked; he turned back to his plate and continued eating, rolling his eyes as he remembered the meeting. “So, he decided to come to the meeting instead; not that it did any good in the end.”

 

_”Fuck, Schmidt, you look like shit,” Brian said as the zombie that was his friend and CFO lurched through the door and slumped into a chair, completely ignoring the curious looks shot his way. “What the hell are you doing here? I know for a fact that you have nearly a month and a half left of paternity leave as I signed the paperwork myself.”_

“Blake kicked me out,” Ted muttered, his eyes a mere slit as he rested his chin on his hand; and, frankly, looked like he’d fall over at any minute.

 

“Ah, you were hovering were you?” Brian snickered, and then laughed outright when Ted shot him a dirty look and flipped him off.

 

“Like you’re one to talk,” Ted snapped, and then rubbed a hand over his face and smiled sheepishly. “I do happen to know that you aren’t exactly hands off yourself.”

 

Brian arched a brow.

 

“Justin and Blake talk,” Ted smirked tiredly. “Every single day apparently. I swear, between Justin and Emmett, the phone is always fucking ringing.” He paused to look at Brian, whose confusion must have shown on his face. “I’m guessing you didn’t know about that. The three of them are thick as thieves and talk to each other about _everything_. It’s been even worse lately as Emmett has been making noises about starting to plan for yours and Justin’s baby shower.”

 

“Baby shower?” Brian asked; dread coating each word as a chill tripped its way down his spine. “What do you mean baby shower?”

 

“Ah, you didn’t actually think you were going to get out of an Emmett special, did you” Ted teased, sniggering at Brian’s more than horrified look. “Yeah, not happening. They have been talking themes and colors and games and favors and food to fit said theme. Emmett has been salivating for this day; there is no way in hell he’s going to give up planning the baby shower of the year.”

 

“That’s enough,” Brian said, holding up a hand; he so didn’t want to think about this right now. He had a meeting to run in about ten minutes, and didn’t need the added stress. He’d deal with it when he got home. “So why did Blake send you packing?”

 

“Blake said that my going in to constantly check on Luc was waking him up before his time,” Ted muttered, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck. “And he said, if Luc doesn’t sleep then he doesn’t get to sleep. And if **he** doesn’t sleep, you can bet my sweet ass that I wouldn’t be sleeping. And thus, he kicked me out of the house in order to salvage his sanity and my well-being; because if I didn’t leave, he wasn’t going to be held responsible for what he did.”

 

Brian threw his head back and laughed; a deep belly laugh that startled the employees that had already gathered in the conference room.

 

“Yeah, you laugh now,” Ted said with a smirk. “But in about five months, you’re going to be in my shoes and it won’t seem so funny then.”

 

“Theodore, I’m already there,” Brian snickered, a wicked grin on his face. “Justin has reached the point where sex is a thing that must happen at least twice a day, if not more. Sleep is not a thing that happens right now.”

 

“Twice a day?” Ted asked incredulously.

 

“Sometimes three or four depending on his mood.” Brian shrugged and smirked when Ted’s jaw dropped. “Close your mouth, Theodore; we don’t need you collecting flies.”

 

“Lucky bastard,” Ted grumbled, sinking back in his chair with a huff. “I was lucky if Blake wanted to have sex a few times a week; especially at the end. He complained that his skin was far too sensitive and he didn’t want to be touched.”

 

“Justin’s sensitive too,” Brian hummed, flipping the folder in front of him open when he saw Cynthia walk into the room and nod, letting him know the were ready. “But luckily, for me, he likes that thin edge between pleasure and pain; so, it’s been a lot of fun.”

 

“Asshole,” Ted muttered, opening his own folder.

 

“Watch it, Schmidt,” Brian snickered, and turned to his gathered staff so he could start the meeting. “I can still fire you, you know.”

 

Ted snorted, but didn’t say anything as Brian brought the meeting to order. He spent the next hour going over the new accounts that had been brought in that week and got updates on the current campaigns in progress, finding out where they stood and where they needed to focus in order to bring them up to date. They had just finished going over staffing needs and issues, when Brian flipped to the financials, which he was going to take care of; but since Ted was here, he’d have the man do it himself.

 

“And so, I’ll turn it over to Ted, and he can fill us in on the details,” Brian said, sitting back in his chair and waiting for Ted to take over the discussion. But when a few seconds had passed without any noise from that direction, Brian turned and prompted him again. “Ted?”

 

But the only thing that came out of Ted’s mouth was a loud snore, followed by a grunt and snuffle, much to the rest of the staff’s amusement. Brian pinched the bridge of his nose and mentally rolled his eyes skyward, begging for patience as everyone else around him chuckled when Ted kept right on snoozing without a care in the world.

 

“Ted!” Brian shouted, startling the other man out of his slumber; Ted snorted and jumped, looking around blurrily as if trying to figure out where exactly he was. He turned to Brian and quelled at his exasperated glare. “Go sleep in your fucking office so I can finish the meeting in peace.”

 

Ted flushed and quickly gathered his things before heading towards the door, only pausing as Brian admonished.

_“And for fucks sake, Ted; the next time Blake kicks you out, go bug Justin or Emmett; some of us are trying to work here.”_

 

Justin laughed at the retelling of the meeting, even if he did glare and swat Brian on the arm when he was recounting his conversation on their sex lives. Brian wasn’t sure why he was surprised by that; it’s not as if their very active sex life wasn’t known far and wide on Liberty Avenue. They’d never bothered to hide it.

“So, baby shower?” Brian asked, arching a brow as this had been the first he’d heard of it. He should have expected it though; he’d seen the fervent gleam in Emmett’s eye right after he and Justin announced their pregnancy.

“Nothing you have to worry your pretty, little head about, darling,” Justin simpered and batted his lashes; Brian just scowled. “I’ll just tell you the date once it’s been decided, and you only have to show up.”

“But…” Brian trailed off with a grimace when Justin leveled a gimlet stare in his direction.

“And you _will_ show up if you know what’s good for you,” he stated firmly, his tone brooking no argument. Brian frowned, but knew better than to say anything. “I don’t expect you to play the games or do any of the silly rituals, as I know you’ll probably break out in hives if you had to, but you _will_ be here. I’ll leave you to entertain Gus and Hunter.”

“Yes, dear,” Brian sniggered, making Justin roll his eyes.

“Besides, it’s not like I’m doing much myself, as Emmett has taken complete control...” Justin trailed off with a funny look on his face.

Brian furrowed his brow and watched Justin’s look of utter concentration, wondering what the fuck was going on with his husband now.

“Oh,” Justin exclaimed softly, his hand flying to his belly, which had started to develop some curvature to it lately. “Oh, wow that is…”

“Justin…” Brian looked at the hand clenched against Justin’s stomach, and then took in Justin’s stunned face with no little amount of alarm; made all the worse as Justin paled, sending a frisson of fear rippling down his spine. “Is everything okay? Is there something wrong with the baby?”

“Oh, Brian,” Justin said, his eyes tearing over; and _that_ did nothing to reassure Brian. “It’s…it’s… I’m fine. I’m fine.” Brian looked at him skeptically. “No, really, I’m fine. I promise. It’s just that…I just felt the baby move.”

Brian’s eyes flew to Justin’s stomach and in an instant he was on the floor his hands on Justin’s stomach. But try as he might, he couldn’t feel anything, much to his disappointment.

“Do, you feel it?” Justin asked hoarsely, his eyes shining with joy as he took Brian’s hands and moved them to a bit lower on his stomach. “Right there.” But Brian couldn’t and shook his head in negation; Justin made a disappointed noise. “Well, they did warn us that it might take longer before you could feel it. But still...”

“What’s it like?” Brian asked, his hands caressing Justin’s stomach with wonder.

“It’s kind of like this fluttery feeling?” Justin said with a frown. “Only not? Maybe more like popcorn popping. You know like these quick, little, bubbling jabs. I don’t know how to explain it.” Justin paused, a small giggle of wonder bubbling out as his hand tightened over his stomach. “I thought I felt something yesterday, when were watching the ultrasound; but then I thought, I had to be imagining it just because I could see the baby squirming around on the monitor.”

“I wish I could feel it,” Brian said, pulling his hands away with some disappointment. He rested his hands on Justin’s hips and pressed a kiss to his stomach, and whispered.

“Soon, Sunbeam; soon.”


	11. January 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have to admit, everybody's comments made LOL when they realized I wasn't disclosing Sunbeam's sex. And, yes, you read that right; I won't be telling you the gender because I'm evil like that. However, I am not completely heartless; so, let's play a game. If you can guess the sex and the day Sunbeam is born, I will write you something. This offer is limited to completely new one-shots or vignettes or chapters for my existing stories. A few things to keep in mind if you are going to make a guess - Justin's due date is June 11; BUT he will NOT deliver on that date. I won't tell you if he will deliver early or late, but I will tell you that the birth sign will remain Gemini, so no worries on a too early birth. (While I might mess with the boys a bit by adding some stress and intrigue, I won't do that to them.) And, if you choose to guess on multiples (I'm sure someone will), make sure to give the gender of each and whether you think they will be fraternal or identical. The last part won't really play part in the game, but I'm curious what people would think. Lastly, you CAN make up to three guesses, but I will only take guesses up to the end of MAY story line wise; which may not match up to the current calendar year. Hopefully, this will keep people from killing me for being a brat and not telling you. On with the show!

**January 11**

Justin put a dab of yellow paint in the middle of the white daisy he’d painted on the wall and stood back to admire his handiwork. He was quite pleased with the way the forest mural was taking shape and couldn’t wait for the full thing to finally come together. Hopefully, that would be sooner rather than later; however, with the snail’s pace he'd had to work at, he had a feeling this project would take him much of his pregnancy.

Due to the potential toxicity of the paints and other chemicals he worked with, he'd promised to take this slowly and to work on it no more than four hours a day, broken up into one hour segments. A promise that Brian had extracted from him during one of their drawn-out lovemaking sessions, when Justin was far too weak and incoherent to do anything other than agree with him.

Sneaky bastard.

Not that he hadn’t agreed with the need to be careful, (even if he had ordered natural paints from BioShield and Valspar for this very reason). He just would have negotiated a couple of more hours of painting time per day if he’d been thinking straight. But once he’d promised, Brian wouldn’t budge on it and even told their housekeeper, Anna, the rules so she could pry Justin out of the room at the right time.

His husband could be an overbearing bastard sometimes.

The other conditions he’d been expected to meet, were that each time he painted, he had to wear a long-sleeved shirt, long pants, gloves and a filtered, face mask so that he didn’t breathe too many fumes; that combined with the room being well ventilated. As, while they hadn’t found any studies that showed that paint fumes were detrimental to the baby, neither of them were willing to take any chances with Sunbeam. All of which he complied to in order keep Brian from hovering over his shoulder.

But he had to admit, he _really_ hated being swaddled up like a mummy. It was really annoying when he couldn't so much as push up his sleeves while he was painting without incurring his husband's wrath, but he did it to keep the peace.

He supposed that he could've saved himself the hassle and just hired out someone else to bring the mural to life like his mother suggested, but there was no way in hell that Justin would allow it. It was _his_ baby, and _his_ nursery, and _his_ fucking vision. And oo one, but _no one_ , other than him would be creating this particular wonderland. Even if it fucking took him right up until the day Sunbeam was born.

Setting the brush aside, Justin glanced at the clock and grimaced to see his time was nearly up. Something made evident by the heavy tread of footsteps on the stairs. Rolling his eyes, Justin took his brushes into the bathroom to wash, ignoring said footsteps as they got closer and closer to the door. Really, Brian was beyond predictable at times.

“Justin?” Brian called as soon as he stepped over the threshold of the nursery, and then went silent as he admired the new touches to the mural. Or so Justin guessed.

“In here,” Justin called, swishing his brushes through solvent, careful not to spill any on him. “I’m just cleaning my brushes.”

And then he mentally counted to three in his head and forced back of huff of irritation when Brian heaved the expected exasperated sigh. Honestly, you'd think that Justin wasn't able to take care of himself by the way he acted.

“I told you to let me take care of that,” Brian huffed as he stalked across the room and entered the bathroom with a frown.

“I can take care of it myself,” Justin griped, swatting Brian’s hands away. “Honestly, I’m pregnant; not a fucking invalid. I can manage to drag a paint brush back and forth through liquid on my own without any interference.”

“Yes, Justin,” Brian groused, grabbing at his paintbrush again. “You are pregnant, which is why it would be better that _**I**_ deal with the potentially toxic chemicals.”

Fed up, Justin dropped the brush and whirled around, his hands on his hips.

“What toxic chemicals?” he demanded in a highly irritated voice; because as if he’d endanger himself and Sunbeam. “Everything I have been using is non-toxic from the natural-based paints to the cleaners; which, by the way, is a mixture of water and fabric softener. And still, I have been adhering to your rules of taking breaks often and bundling myself up like a fucking mummy just so you won’t bitch too much. You know I’d never do anything to harm Sunbeam.”

Brian just glared for a moment longer, and then huffed, his face softening as he walked over and leaned his brow against the top of Justin's head.

“I know,” Brian said with a sheepish smile on his face. He pressed a kiss to Justin’s temple as he whispered. “I just worry about you and Sunbeam. You are my life and I don’t want anything to happen to either of you.”

And really, that was just so unfair. How the hell was he supposed to stay angry when his husband said shit like that?

“Not fair,” he muttered for good measure; Brian just grinned like the unrepentant bastard that he was. “So, now that you know the helpless, little waif is perfectly capable of taking care of himself – go away so I clean my damned brushes."

Brian snorted, but backed away with his hands held up in supplication.

“I’ll meet you down in the kitchen for lunch, Sunshine,” Brian said, a tongue in cheek smirk on his face. “I want to make sure that I get my fill before you and your bottomless pit of a stomach ravage it leaving me to waste away to nothing.”

Justin scowled; had he mentioned his husband can be an irritating asshole at times?

Justin flipped him off, muttering under his breath as Brian just laughed and walked out of the room, presumably to go get said lunch. Like it was Justin’s fault that Sunbeam had made his already healthy appetite nearly voracious.

He finished cleaning his brushes and set them into a container to dry, and then dumped the ‘solvent’ into a slop bucket for later disposal. He quickly stripped off his gloves and mask and set them to the side and all but galloped down the back stairs leading directly into the kitchen, his stomach growling. He strode through the door and over the sink, pushed up his sleeves and washed his hands.

“So, what’s on the menu today?” Justin asked, looking over at Brian, who was spooning up something up into a bowl.

“Anna made butternut squash soup yesterday,” Brian said as he set the bowl aside and filled another with the fragrant soup. “I know it’s one of your favorites. So, I heated that up, made a quick salad and grilled some chicken for sandwiches. You’ll have to have to make your own sandwich, however, as I have no idea what you want on it.”

Justin snorted as he saw Brian cringe a little as he said that last part. While most of his strange cravings were due to Sunbeam, he did admit that sometimes he just couldn’t help messing with Brian a bit when it came to his food combinations. Luckily for him, today, Justin just wanted his normal chicken sandwich. Walking over to the cupboard, he pulled the honey wheat bread down and quickly assembled a sandwich with cranberry aioli, chicken, pepper jack, spinach and tomatoes.

He set his sandwich next to the bowl of soup and then walked over to pull out plates for their salad. He handed them off to Brian and grabbed a couple of tangerines and a banana to add to the growing pile next to his plate before grabbing the milk and pouring himself a large glass. He set it down by his plate and looked around, just knowing he was missing something, but he couldn’t figure out what.

Justin shrugged and sat down, and helped himself to the salad, while Brian just watched in amusement. He took a few bites of his meal, listening as Brian started filling him in on one of their new accounts, and then he frowned as he tasted the soup. Taking another bite, he swirled it over his palate, his frown deepening. It was good; really good actually, but there was just something missing.

“Is something wrong?” Brian asked, halting his commentary with a wary look.

“This needs something,” Justin said as he got up from the table and walked over to the refrigerator and began to dig through it.

“Of course it does,” Brian said in resignation; and Justin would have found the dread written all over his face amusing if he hadn’t been far too busy looking for that elusive thing that the soup needed.

“Ah ha!” He exclaimed and pulled out a little pot of crème fraîche. And then he spied the apple pie from the night before and pulled that out too.

Justin happily made his way back to the table with his finds, snickering when Brian sighed with relief at his newest additions. He spooned a large dollop of the crème fraîche into his soup and swirled it around and then took another bite, humming happily when the soup was now perfect. He quickly demolished the sandwich, salad, fruit and the soup and was just reaching for the pie when Brian huffed.

“You know, Sunshine,” Brian said, his voice dry as the Sahara. “When the doctor said that you should consume an extra three hundred calories, I’m pretty sure that she meant three hundred a _day_ , not per _meal_.”

Justin scowled and flipped Brian off for the second time that day; because, really? He was just asking to get his ass kicked at this point if was implying that - in any way, shape or form - that Justin was getting fat. He was barely showing as it was and thought he was doing pretty well for four months pregnant.

“My, we _are_ tetchy today,” Brian snickered as he finished his salad; he stood and came up behind Justin to grab his plate, crowding him as he leaned down to whisper hotly against his ear. “It’s a good thing that I know exactly how to deal with tetchy little boys; don’t I, Sunshine?” Justin paused mid bite, his dick going zero to sixty in less than a second. Fuck his hormones; especially when Brian licked the shell of his ear and said. “And I have the perfect way to work off those excess calories.”

Justin looked down at his plate for a second and then, dropping his fork, quickly stood and grabbed Brian by his shirt and dragged him out of the room.

The pie could definitely wait.


	12. January 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **WARNING:** Things take a bit of a creepy turn here

**January 12**

He had been walking through the park when he saw them – the man of his dreams and the bastard that stole him away from him. They were walking hand in hand with their son and their son’s sister, a merry little band chattering away as if they hadn’t a care in the world. Like they hadn’t ripped his heart out and stomped on it.

He fought to take a deep breath, but couldn’t, his lungs constricting as he watched the bastard kiss his beautiful love softly on the lips, lingering for several seconds even as the boy gagged and made faces and the girl smiled dreamily at the two. The bastard pulled away and smiled softly, his hand caressing the stomach as they continued on their way.

His love laughed, and just shook his head at something, completely oblivious to anything but the bastard; and he _seethed_ , his blood boiling as he realized the implications of the caress. The baby that was the bane of his existence. The little parasite that kept his love trapped and bound to the bastard and away from _his_ side where he belonged. If there was only a way to get rid of the little interloper, he was certain that whatever spell the bastard had his love under would break and he could be there to pick up the pieces and mend his love’s broken heart.

Sliding out of the shadows, he followed his love and the others at a safe distance, making sure to keep to the trees or behind the bushes, as he knew if the bastard saw him, he would whisk his beauty away and then he wouldn’t see him again for some time. It seemed like he could never get close to his love anymore; at least not alone as that bastard was constantly attached to his side.

He halted as the little group stopped by a bench and his love and the bastard sat down, each ever so solicitous to the other that it made him sick. His stomach churned and he nearly frothed at the mouth as he watched the bastard’s hands soothe his love and the way his love reciprocated, ever drawn into the web the bastard spun to keep him there. It made him physically ill as those caresses took a more intimate turn in his mind, and suddenly he was watching them in the backroom at Babylon, their hands sliding over naked skin and their lips everywhere as the bastard brought his love to orgasm.

The only good thing about those times was how beautiful his love looked in the throes of pleasure; the way he just lost himself to moment, his head tipped back, soft lips parted, his hands clenched in the bastard’s hair as he stiffened and came. He could easily imagine himself in the bastard’s place. That it was his lips on his love’s and his hands sliding over his love’s creamy skin; that it was his mouth swallowing his love whole and his hair his love gripped as he came down his throat.

He knew that if he'd only had the chance, he could make his love forget about the bastard. He’d had the chance once, but he squandered it, pulling away and his love shrugged him off without even batting an eye. But this time, when he got his chance, when he got his love alone, he wouldn’t waste the opportunity. He’d bind his love to him forever and he would never let his beauty go.

Taking a deep breath, he carefully walked into the shrubbery behind them, curious as to what they were talking about. Given the way the girl was waving her arms in excitement and gesturing, it had to do something with the parasite. He scowled, his stomach souring at the reminder; he had to do something about that and soon. Like hell was he going to lose his love to this interloper.

Stepping carefully, he halted about six feet away and listened in, scowling when the girl called the blonde papa and the brunet just smiled and did nothing.

**… … … … …**

“It was really cool, Papa J,” Jenny said, her excitement obvious by the way she waved and fluttered her hands. “The couple took a small video of the mother’s stomach each day as the mother started showing and then they edited it all together and ran it at two or four times the speed or something like that so it looked like the stomach was expanding at a fast pace. And I thought it would make a cool end of the year project for Gus’ mass media class, but he’s too shy to ask.”

“Shut up, Jenny,” Gus huffed, glaring at his sister. “I wasn’t too shy; I just couldn’t find the right time to ask.”

“Well, you need to,” Jenny huffed, casting a glare at her brother. “Papa J is just starting to show, and if they don’t start the recordings now, you won’t be able to capture most of the pregnancy before you have to edit the clips for your class.”

“I know,” Gus huffed and then pulled his lip between his teeth. “I just…”

“Okay, enough bickering you two,” Justin said, holding a hand out in front of him in a hushing motion; he turned to Brian and arched a brow. “What do you say, Bri; think you’re up to filming my stomach for what…” Justin trailed off and looked at Gus, “thirty seconds a day? Would that be enough footage to work with?”

“That would be perfect, Jus,” Gus said, smiling shyly. “If you don’t mind.”

“Of course I don’t mind, Gus,” Justin smiled and reached over to ruffle the boy’s hair much to Gus’ annoyance. Justin turned back to Brian. “Well, honey. Think you can stand filming me a few seconds every day?”

“Oh, I suppose I can take a few seconds out of my busy schedule and force myself to do it,” Brian said, a tongue in cheek smirk pasted on his face; and then he leaned in to whisper in Justin’s ear. “It’s not like it’s a hardship to ogle your body.”

“Dad!” Gus exclaimed, and then groaned and covered his face with his hands as Justin flushed. Jenny just looked between the three puzzled as she hadn’t heard what had been said between her Papa J and Uncle Brian. “Must you?”

“Yes,” Brian smirked, dodging when Justin went to smack him on the back of the head.

“But you have to wear the same thing every day for it to work, Papa J,” Jenny said, shrugging it off as one of those things she’d understand when she was older. “So, maybe you can wear like a pair of black track pants and a plain white or plain black t-shirt?”

“We’ll figure it out, Jenny girl,” Brian reassured her, rubbing his hand over Justin’s stomach. “Don’t you worry about it. You know what an artistic perfectionist your Papa J is. He’ll make sure everything is exact before we shoot the film each day.”

“Wicked!” Gus grinned, his face lighting up with excitement. “Thanks Jus, Dad; I can’t wait to work on this project. It’s going to turn out so cool. And maybe you can help me with it, Jus. You know when I start piecing things together.”

“Of course, Sonny Boy,” Justin nodded, a content smile on his face. “You know that I’d be happy to help.”

“Well, you ready to continue our walk, Sunshine?” Brian said, getting to his feet. “You know what the doc said; you need to make it a habit to get some exercise every day.” Brian paused, then leaned down to whisper, "And not just between the sheets."

Justin flushed and pinched Brian in the side, snickering when he yelped.

“Yup,” Justin said with a sigh, massaging his stomach with his hand as he stood. “I just needed to sit for a moment; my stomach’s been sore lately."

“You okay, Sunshine?” Brian asked, wrapping his arm around the slight blonde, a concerned look on his face.

“I’m fine,” Justin said, waving the concern off. “The doc told me that it was perfectly normal right now as my ligaments are stretching as the pregnancy progresses. Let’s get going. Sunbeam is hungry.”

“Sunbeam is always hungry, Papa J,” Jenny giggled as they set off down the park path once more. Gus nodded emphatically, and then shuddered as he recalled the last time he’d seen his Jus eat, making Brian laugh and squeeze his shoulder in sympathy.

Justin rolled his eyes. “Yeah, well, since Sunbeam is steering this ship, there is not much I can do at the moment. Shall we go to the diner? I could go for a double bacon cheeseburger and some onion rings right now.”

“I’m sure you could,” Brian snorted, leading his little family down the park path and towards Liberty Diner. “But when you get heartburn from it later tonight, don’t bitch to me. I will feel no sympathy for your food choices.”

**… … … … …**

Hate, thick and black as tar, bubbled inside him as he watched his love walk away in the arms of the bastard, both wrapped up in the other and with not a care in the world. He clenched his hands into fists, and watched as his love looked back over his shoulder, a weird expression on his face, and he could only hope that he was feeling the pull between them too. But soon enough, he turned away, back to that asshole, and continued down the path.

Soon. Soon he would have his beauty all to himself, and there was nothing that the bastard could do to stop him.


	13. January 13 (Part One)

**January 13 (Part One)**

Brian closed the file on his desk and sat back in his chair; he rubbed the back of his neck and tried to decide what needed his attention most when a commotion arose outside his door. Sighing, he pinched the bridge of his nose just knowing that whatever was headed his way was going to piss him off and give him a headache.

Sinking further into his chair, Brian steepled his fingers and watched the door, a bland expression on his face. And just in time too as the door went flying open to reveal his mother and his very harassed looking personal assistant, Yasmeen. Sighing internally, he wondered what the fuck his mother wanted now. It couldn’t be money seeing as he'd given her a sizeable sum not even ten days before.

Or at least, it better not be money, because like hell was he going to continue funding her benders.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Kinney,” Yasmeen said, glowering at the woman in his office as if she were ready to drop kick the bitch out the door at the slightest indication from Brian. “I tried to stop her, but you know what she’s like. Some people just don’t know how to take ‘get the hell out’ in the light in which it was meant.”

Brian snorted in amusement and thanked God each and every day that Cynthia had managed to hire this woman for his assistant. Life was never dull around here since she’d started manning the desk outside his office, and she was surprisingly tolerable for a breeder. He’d even go as far as to say that he liked her and considered her a friend; not that he’d ever admit it aloud as Justin would never let him live it down.

“Brian, are you going to let this…woman…talk to me that way?” his mother demanded, looking down her nose at Yasmeen.

Yasmeen just stared her down, not in the least intimidated.

“Yes,” he replied, eyeing his mother blandly, and letting her draw her own conclusions as to what he meant by that; he then turned back to Yasmeen with a thin smile. “I do indeed know what she’s like. Thank you, Yasmeen; I’ll take it from here. Keep security on alert would you? If she isn’t gone in fifteen minutes, feel free to have them…escort her out.”

“As you wish, Mr. Kinney,” Yasmeen smirked, and then threw a vicious smile his mother’s way and walked out, shutting the door behind her. Yes, he quite liked her.

Heaving a tired sigh, he turned back to his mother and arched a brow, internally snickering at the sour expression on her face. Hey, act like a bitch, and you get treated like the bitch that you are.

“So, Mother; what has you slithering out from underneath your rock today?” Brian drawled sarcastically, a bored expression on his face.

“How dare you let that…,” Joanie spluttered indignantly, her back poker stiff. “I am your mother, and I will not have you or any of your staff speaking to me that way.”

“Like I give two fucks what you want, Joanie,” Brian sneered, rolling his eyes at her dramatics; honestly, you would have thought she’d learned by now that he didn’t give one flying fuck what she thought. “Now tell me why you’re here or get the hell out of my office. And before you begin, if the words ‘I need more money,’ are any where in your explanation, you can turn right around and get the fuck out. I will not support your sherry habit any more than I already have.”

“As if I would turn to you in my time of need,” Joan sniffed, turning her nose up at him. Brian just rolled his eyes at her attitude.

“So, I’m guessing you’ll be handing back that $2500 you requested earlier this month?” he asked, arching a brow; and then sniggered when she looked startled by the implications of that question. Of course, Claire hadn’t said anything.

“What are you talking about?” Joan asked stiffly, a pensive frown on her face. “Claire gave me that money.”

“Where the fuck do you think she got it from?” Brian snorted, shaking his head at his mother’s blindness when it came to her favored child. “Do you honestly think that Claire has $2500 to pull out of her ass when she’s living on alimony, child support and a low-paying temp job? Please. She was up at my place whining about my duty and I gave it to her the money just so she would shut the hell up and get out of my house.”

“She said…” Joan retorted, her arms crossed over her chest

“Whatever,” Brian cut in wearily, holding his hand up to cut off anything that she might have added to that statement; he really didn’t want to hear it. “Don’t care what lies she’s been feeding you. Now, _what_ do you want?”

His mother pressed her lips together, obviously irritated at being cut off and simply stared at him in disapproval. But she was wasting her time. He’d gotten over her dismissal of him and his life a long time ago. So he just stared right back at her, and impatiently gestured for her to get on with it. She huffed.

“I heard that you and that…that _boy_ …” she began, her mouth pursing as if she’d just sucked on a box of lemons.

“You mean my husband?” Brian interrupted, smirking when she glared at him; she still hadn’t gotten over the fact that he and Justin had ‘sullied the institution of marriage’ by getting hitched; her words, not his. And he just loved to rub her nose in it.

“That you and _that boy_ were having a child,” Joan spat, still refusing to acknowledge Justin’s place in his life. Whatever. He just wanted this over with.

“Yeah,” Brian asked, arching a brow as if to say, ‘and your point is?’

“How could you?” Joan spat, her body trembling as she stared at Brian in betrayal.

“It was really quite easy,” Brian said with a sardonic smile. “I tossed out the condoms, he went off his birth control and then I fucked his brains out until I finally knocked him up. Had lots of fun doing it to. You should know the basic mechanics as you must have done it a time or two yourself.” Brian paused in contemplation. “Well, jury is still out on Claire. She might have just slithered out from whatever rock you like to hide under; which would make sense when you think about it as like recognizes like.”

“It’s a sin and an abomination before the eyes of God. Men were not meant to be together and they certainly weren’t meant to have babies. It is the role of a woman and the Bible says…” Joan blustered, her face screwed up in disgust.

“Like I give a shit what your 2000-plus-year-old rules have to say about the proper roles of a man and a woman,” Brian sneered. “They have nothing to do with me, or my life. Life changes and evolves every day. And if we were to believe that God is the puppetmaster in charge of all of creation; then obviously he doesn’t have a problem with it as he would have been responsible for the change in the male physiology as well.”

His mother blanched, her lips compressing so tightly at his words that they disappeared.

“The only true abomination here is you, Joanie,” he continued in a cold tone, thoroughly fed up with his mother’s presence. “And your complete inability to be a decent human being. And frankly, I don’t have time for this bullshit. If the only reason you’ve come to see me is to tell me yet again that we are going to hell, you’re wasting yours and my valuable time because I couldn’t care less. But be sure to take it up with the big guy once you do me the favor of croaking and leaving me the fuck alone.”

His mother gave an affronted gasp, her hand flying to her throat.

“If you even get there,” Brian smirked, an amused glint in his eyes. “After all, how many passages mention the supposed sin of homosexuality and how many mention leaving judgment in the hands of your God and treating people with kindness and dignity? I wouldn’t be gilding your cloud just yet, as I doubt you’ve lived a good enough life to warrant it. My guess is you’re headed straight to purgatory; if you’re lucky. I doubt you even warrant that. After all, purgatory is for repenting sinners and you’re far too sanctimonious to ever truly repent for your sins against me and the world in general.”

Brian snickered as his mother glowered at his words. Brian looked down, and noticed a red light on, his snickers turning into hearty chuckles as he realized that Yasmeen was likely listening to the whole thing. And if he knew her well at all, she was recording it to send to strategic people around the office, friends, family and people within Joanie’s church group. You’d think his mother would have learned not to piss her off the first time around.

“You’re going straight to hell…” Joan spat, practically frothing at the mouth.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Brian interrupted, dismissing her with a careless wave o his hand. “Been there, done that, heard it all; do get a new line as that one is getting a bit worn out and is losing its power.” Brian paused and watched as his mother opened and closed her mouth like a landed fish; but he just pointed towards the door. “I’m sure you can find your way out. I’d hurry if I were you; Yasmeen isn’t known for her patience when it comes to sanctimonious bitches.”

His mother stared at him, her lips quivering, but whether it was in rage or sorrow or humiliation, he didn’t know and didn’t care. He’d written her off the day she'd stood in Claire’s house and accused him of molesting the little shit that tried to steal from him. He raised a disinterested brow and made a ‘well, get on with it’ gesture, and silently watched as his mother turned stiffly on her heel and headed toward the door.

However, before she left there was one more thing.

“Just one question before you leave,” Brian said, halting Joanie’s progress; his mother turned to look at him. “How _did_ you find out? I know I haven’t told Claire; or anyone that you would socialize with for that matter.”

“I ran into that Novotny boy at the store,” his mother sniffed, making Brian’s hackles instantly rise. “What was his name?”

“Michael?” Brian said between clenched teeth, ignoring the small gasp on the other side of the intercom; one that his mother didn’t hear thankfully.

“Yes, that’s it,” Joanie said in a huffy voice. “He told me since my own flesh and blood couldn’t be bothered.”

“I see,” Brian said tightly, his hands clenching into fists as he tried to make sense of this new betrayal on Michael’s part. Because he damned well knew Michael hadn’t told Joan out of any excitement or joy for the occasion.

He’d deal with that later.

“Well, mother, we shouldn’t keep you,” He smiled tightly and shooed her out the door. “I’m sure there is some poor soul out there that needs praying for; and I certainly wouldn’t want to interfere with your ongoing and passionate love affair with the bottle. Do take care of yourself and feel free to never darken my door again.”

Joan huffed again and the stormed off, the door slamming in her wake.

“And to the nosy assholes in the other room,” Brian said, finally addressing his audience; rolling his eyes when his words were met with several chortles, proving that it wasn’t just Yasmeen out there. “I’ll be taking the rest of the day off; now get back to work!”

Brian watched as the light flickered off; he shut down his computer, packed his remaining files into his briefcase, gathered his things and headed for the door.

**… … … … …**

Brian walked through the door, thankful to be home, and hoping for peace and quiet; but was quickly dispelled of that notion when he was met with the loud, strident voice of Deb, the smooth, cultured tones of Mother Taylor, and the irritated voice of a certain blonde bombshell, who sounded like he was seconds from exploding. He sighed and slammed the door to announce his presence, grateful when the voices halted and he was attacked by a blonde whirlwind at the end of his last thread.

“Thank God, you’re home,” Justin huffed as he pressed his nose into Brian’s neck and nearly squeezed the life out of him. “If I had to deal with them for one more second, I would not have been held responsible for what happened. Do something! Before I lose it and kill both of our very well-intentioned, but annoying mothers.”

Brian chuckled and pressed his lips to Justin’s temple and just breathed him in for a minute, allowing some of the tension of the day to slide away. “What is it with fucking mothers today? All I need now is to have Lindsay call and my day would be complete.”

“What?” Justin asked, pulling back to look at him in the face, a concerned frown on his face. “What happened? Why are you home so early?”

“Later,” Brian promised, kissing his husband softly on the lips. “For now, let me go slay your dragon, my fair damsel.”

“Fuck you,” Justin hissed as he pulled away, his annoyance reasserting itself. “It’s not me you have to save, but them; because if I hear one more word about how I should handle my own fucking pregnancy, I might just kill them both.”

“Easy there, tiger,” Brian laughed and wrapped his arms around his husband once more, happy to be home and with the man that he loved. “Let’s go send our mommies packing and then I will show you just how much I appreciate you.”


	14. January 13 (Part Two)

**January 13 (Part Two)**

Justin sat back with smile, taking in the newest details he’d added to the mural. It had been a good day so far and he’d accomplished a lot. Especially given the fact that Anna had taken the day off to visit her daughter and newest grandson, (something he’d failed to mention to Brian), and Brian was at work, leaving him to his own devices. And he’d spent the last two hours painting without interruption.

He supposed that he should feel bad about not taking a break between the two hours as he promised, but the restrictions had been chafing lately; and as long as he didn’t overdo it, he didn’t see any reason why he couldn’t work a bit longer if he was feeling up to it.

Plus it was just nice having the house to himself, surrounded by peace and quiet rather than all too helpful people hovering over his every move. No one there making sure that he was eating right. No one there questioning if he needed to rest for just a minute or two. (Honestly, if he wanted a nap, he would take a fucking nap.) No one there telling him that a certain activity is inadvisable for his condition.

He knew they only did this out of love and concern, but Justin had always been an independent person. Even as a child, he’d preferred to do things his own way and in his own time. It had been the bane of his mother’s existence as she'd never known how to deal with an assertive Justin, with very clear opinions about the things in his world; a son that didn’t really need her guidance.

It was part of the reason why she'd had such a difficult time when he came out; Justin was once again embarking on a journey she had no say in and was going places where she couldn’t follow him, no matter how much she wanted to smooth the path for him.

Sighing, Justin set his paintbrush aside and swiped a hand over his face. This was probably as good a stopping point as any. Plus, he was getting hungry since it was just after one in the afternoon and he hadn’t eaten lunch yet. Standing up, he quickly cleaned his brushes and had just set them in a jar to dry when the doorbell rang.

Frowning, Justin took off his mask and gloves, and laid them on a table as he walked past. He couldn’t fathom who could be at the door as _he_ wasn’t expecting anyone; and Brian sure as hell would have told him if _he_ was expecting a delivery today. Trotting down the stairs, Justin huffed in exasperation as the doorbell impatiently peeled again.

“I’m coming,” he called, doubting whoever was at the door would hear him, but saying it nonetheless just in case they could.

Striding into the foyer, he quickly ran a hand through his hair and then scrubbed his hands on his jeans to make sure there was no paint on them. God forbid he get paint on the handle and it dried; or worse, gets on one of Brian’s suits. That was a queen out he wanted no part of if he could at all help it. Grasping the handle, he opened the door and then stared at the people standing on his doorstep with a small frown.

“Mom, Deb,” Justin greeted hesitantly, wondering why they’d driven all the way out to West Virginia and why Deb was carrying a box with her. “What are you doing here?”

“Sunshine!” Deb greeted, kissing the air next to his cheek as she pushed her way into the house. Not that he’d tell her no, but it would have been nice if she’d waited until he’d extended an invitation. “We heard that Anna was visiting with her newest grandbaby today and figured that now would be a good time to visit since you were up here all by your lonesome.”

“Oh, really?” Justin said, desperately trying to hold onto that thread of calm that had enveloped him since Brian went to work, but now had shattered with the appearance of more well-meaning minders. “And where did you hear this?”

“Hello, sweetheart,” his mother said as she walked past, kissing him on the cheek before she followed Deb into the kitchen. Justin rolled his eyes and closed the door, knowing he had no other choice than to follow them. “A friend of mine at work is a cousin or an aunt or something, and she mentioned in passing that Laurell had her baby this weekend; why didn’t you say anything? I would have loved to have gone to the hospital and brought them a gift.

“Laurell said she didn’t want any visitors for the first couple of weeks,” Justin said as he entered the kitchen, watching Deb with a wary look. “She'd been inundated with family as it was the last couple of weeks and didn’t want any more people underfoot while trying to deal with a new baby.

“Well, it’s a good thing we heard about through Linda then,” Deb cackled as she began unpacking her box, taking out tray after tray of frozen food. “Otherwise you might have starved up here all by yourself.”

Justin tried not to take offense at the implication that he wasn’t able to care for himself; but given he’d just gotten rid of two mother hens just hours before, he was having a tough time not snapping at the woman he considered a second mother. He took a deep breath and then let it out slowly, releasing the tension in his shoulders as he did so.

“What is all of this?” he asked, still puzzled as too why Deb was filling his freezer with food when anyone could see that he had a full fridge.

“I thought that would be pretty obvious, Sunshine,” Deb huffed, setting aside one of the trays on the counter by the oven. She walked over and turned the oven on and then turned back to Justin with her hands on her hips and a hearty laugh on her lips. “You know, you cannot exist on sex alone! You guys have to eat to keep up your strength.”

Justin bristled at that comment, knowing full well that somehow Deb was blaming Brian for some made up offense in her head. It was as if she was implying that Brian couldn’t take care of him; and considering how he couldn’t seem to get Brian to stop hovering to save his life, that was a false assumption. He opened his mouth to set her straight, but was cut off by his mother, as always, playing the peace keeper.

“We just thought we would bring something over so you didn’t have to make something for yourself,” his mother said, shooting him a chiding look.

Justin’s mouth snapped closed, but he was hardly appeased. God, he hated when his mother infantilized him. She did this same damned thing after he’d been bashed. He hated it then, at a mere 18, and he _definitely_ hated it now as a 30-year-old man. He did not need to be scolded like a child that didn’t know his own mind.

“You know, I have plenty of food here and am quite capable of putting together some soup and a sandwich on my own,” Justin said, trying to keep his tone even.

“Oh, I know that, sweetheart,” his mother said with placating smile, patting him on the cheek as if he was fucking ten. “But, we were in the neighborhood and thought why not stop by and keep you company this afternoon.”

Justin snorted skeptically and arched a brow, but otherwise ignored the blatant lie. He and Brian lived thirty minutes outside of Pittsburgh. His mom, he could potentially see as being in the neighborhood if she’d just shown a house nearby. His mom _and_ Debbie, who just happened to show up with with a box full of food; not very likely.

“Besides, there is nothing like a hot meal that will stick to your ribs,” Deb said and she pulled a piece of foil off of the tray she’d set aside. “You’ve always been much too thin, Sunshine; and you’re eating for two now.”

Justin pinched the bridge of his nose, but decided not to say anything as he knew it wouldn’t do any good anyways.

“Now, you just sit your cute, little tush right there, Sunshine," Deb said, pointing to one of the stools by the counter. “While I put this batch of lasagna in and then get started on some garlic bread, and your Mom makes up a salad for the three of us.”

Justin turned around and rolled his eyes, but did indeed sit down at the indicated stool. He propped his chin on his hand and wearily watched his mom and Deb work with an ease that alluded to the number of family dinners he and Brian had held over the years. They knew their way around his kitchen, having taken it over at least once a month since they'd moved out here. They chattered amongst themselves until finally his mother turned around and eyed his clothing with a funny expression on her face.

“So, is it laundry day?” she asked, slicing the mushrooms she’d just cleaned.

“No,” Justin said, a wary frown on his face as he tried to figure out just where she was going with that question. “Why would you think that?”

“Oh, well,” his mother said, and the paused thoughtfully; she studied his appearance with a pensive frown that had Justin’s hackles rising once more. “It’s just that you’re wearing your painting clothes. I thought maybe it was because you were doing laundry.”

“Yes,” Justin said, drawing out the vowel; he had a bad feeling he knew where this was going. “What else would I wear while painting?”

“What do you mean ‘what else would you wear while painting’? Deb exclaimed, turning around to pin Justin with an incredulous look.

“Well, I can’t very well wear my Armani,” Justin joked, trying to lighten the atmosphere; because like hell was he going to have them interfering with this. “I’m pretty sure that if I were to do so, Brian would have a queen out of epic proportions.”

“You’re still painting?” his mother asked, nonplussed as she halted her slicing.

“Yes,” Justin said almost as if he were talking to a small child; he knew he would get his ass chewed for it likely, but really where the fuck was this going? So he decided to voice that thought and hope like fuck it wasn’t leading where he thought it was. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“I just thought…” Jen paused, shooting him a disapproving look; but whether it was for his earlier snark or his answer, he didn’t know. “What are you working on?”

“The mural for the nursery, of course,” Justin said, his head already beginning to ache; he just knew this wasn’t going to end well.

“I thought you were going to hire someone to do that,” his mother said with a frown, but continued slicing vegetables for the salad.

“No,” Justin said, his patience beginning to thin once again. “I want to do it myself; I designed it, and I want to paint it.”

“You should listen to your mother, kiddo,” Deb broke in at that moment, interrupting their little staring contest. “You need to be careful of what you do in your delicate condition.”

A frisson of irritation shot down Justin’s spine and he was this close to telling his two very well-intentioned, but absolutely annoying mothers to fuck off and leave him alone.

“It’s just that,” his mother said in that placating tone that always irritated him as a teenager; the one she used when she thought she knew better, but really didn’t know shit about what was best for him. “When you’re pregnant, sweetheart; you’ll find that you get tired much more easily and it might be better if you had someone to help you.”

“I think I’m perfectly capable of knowing just how far I...,” Justin began through clenched teeth, but then halted when he heard the front door slam.

He glanced at the wall clock over the table and frowned; it was far too early for Brian to be home, but he couldn’t think of anyone else it could be. The only other people that had keys to the house were his mom, who was there; Ted, who was at home with Blake; and Cynthia, who was on a trip. Turning on his heel, he hurried out of the kitchen and sighed with relief when he caught sight of his husband in the foyer.

“Thank God, you’re home,” Justin said as he threw himself into Brian’s arms and buried his nose into his husband’s neck, instantly grounding himself in the man that he loved. “If I had to deal with them for one more second, I would not have been held responsible for what happened. Do something! Before I lose it and kill both of our very well-intentioned, but annoying mothers.”

Brian chuckled, wrapped his arms around him and pressed a kiss to his temple as he muttered, “What is it with fucking mothers today? All I need now is to have Lindsay call and my day would be complete.”

“What?” Justin asked, frowning at the words; he studied Brian’s face and noted the lines of stress gathered on his brow and at the corners of his eyes. He turned what he said over in his head and wondered what the fuck Joan Kinney wanted this time. “What happened? Why are you home so early?”

“Later,” Brian promised, a small smile of gratitude on his lips as he pressed them softly to Justin’s. “For now, let me go slay your dragon, my fair damsel.”

“Fuck you,” Justin spat, his hackles instantly rising as he scowled at his husband. “It’s not me you have to save, but them; because if I hear one more word about how I should handle my own fucking pregnancy, I might just kill them both.”

“Easy there, tiger,” Brian laughed, catching him back in his arms and keeping him from doing just that. He pressed his lips to Justin’s ear, and murmured against them, sending a shiver down Justin’s spine. “Let’s go send our mommies packing and then I will show you just how much I appreciate you.”

Which of course is when the mother hens decided they couldn't leave well enough alone.

“Jesus fuck, Brian,” Deb exclaimed as she walked in the room, Justin’s mother on her heels. “Can’t you go a fucking day without get your dick sucked or fucking an ass? Think of Sunbeam! You can’t be expecting Justin to take care of your needs in his condition. He’ll be showing before you know it and then where will you be? Right, Sunshine?”

It was at that point that Justin, fed up with all the fucking minders in his life, simply snapped.

“Sure,” he said, his voice dripping in sarcasm as he turned and bared his teeth at the women he usually loved, but seemed determined to tread on every last nerve he had today. “You first.” Deb and his mother frowned at his words, not understanding what he meant, but it quickly turned into a gasp when he continued. “After all, you should probably slow down due to your age. I can’t imagine that you’re all that flex…”

Justin’s voice cut off as Brian quickly covered his mouth with his hand. Hissing, he glared at his husband, but subsided when Brian just arched a brow.

"That's enough of that,” Brian said, looking between the three of them with no little exasperation. “I'm thinking it's Sunshine's nap time; so, if you ladies don't mind showing yourselves out, I'm going to go tuck him in."

“Whatever,” Justin muttered after Brian released him; and then he stormed off to his studio without uttering another word, leaving Brian to smooth things over.


	15. January 15

**January 15 – 19 Weeks**

Brian looked up from his computer, startled when a flushed and frantic Justin stormed into the room, slamming and locking the door behind him. Alarmed, Brian sat up straight in his chair and opened his mouth to ask his husband what was wrong, but never got the opportunity as he was hit with a lapful of blond hurricane intent on devouring him as if he were his last meal.

Gripping Justin's hips as he straddled him, Brian groaned when the blond took immediate possession of his mouth, licking his tongue into his mouth and tangling it with his. Sliding his hands up into Justin's hair, he tangled his fingers into the strands and tugged, twisting Justin's head into a better position. Justin's hands slid into his suit jacket and pushed it off his shoulders as they battled for dominance of the kiss; a battle that Justin won this time as he lured Brian's tongue into his mouth and sucked on it. He sucked, nipped and teased the inside of Brian's mouth until finally they had to come up for air or black out.

"Christ, Sunshine," Brian panted, yelping when nimble fingers found his nipples through his shirt and pinched. Justin snickered and licked a hot, wet stripe up his neck, ending at the hollow behind his ear. "What the hell brought this on?"

"God, I need you to fuck me, like right the fuck now," Justin whimpered, his breath hot on Brian's ear as he ground his dick into Brian's, shooting sparks down his spine. Fuck, he loved it when Justin got this way. "I woke up with the biggest, fucking hard on, and nothing would make it go away. I even tried thinking about parent sex, which is usually my fail safe boner killer and I couldn't even conjure up one scene because my brain was far too entrenched in Brianland."

Brian groaned as teeth sunk into the lobe of his ear; he cinched his arms around Justin's waist and back, crushing his husband into his chest and holding him captive as he arched up and reciprocated, grinding his dick into Justin's. The need to have his husband right the fuck now vibrated through him, but he also knew that he had an appointment with one of his major accounts. His desire warred with his sense of responsibility, until finally he reluctantly pulled back.

"As enjoyable as that sounds," Brian said between gasps as Justin kissed and nipped his way down his jaw line. Christ, why did Justin have to visit on the one day he had to deal with one of his most temperamental clients? "I have a lunch meeting with a representative from Eyeconics in about ten minutes."

"No you don't," Justin murmured confidently against his neck and then sucked on the skin just above his pulse; Brian tilted his head to give his husband better access, even as he knew he should be hitting the brakes like right the fuck now.

"Uh, pretty sure I know my own schedule, Sunshine," Brian said, tugging on Justin's hair and yanking those enticing lips back to his. He drank Justin down; unable to resist their pull despite the need for prudence. He lost himself in the hot press of lips, and tongues and teeth and bodies for several more moments before his resolve reasserted itself. "I should know as I made that appointment myself last week."

"Nope, it was cancelled," Justin quipped, a wicked smile overtaking his face as he pulled back and began to swiftly unbutton Brian's shirt, tugging the ends of it out of his pants as he did so. His fingers and nails ran over Brian's chest, leaving lines of fire in their wake.

"Oh and how do you know that?" Brian asked as this was the first he'd heard of it. He slipped his hands up Justin's knit shirt and ran them over smooth, warm skin, relishing how Justin shivered, his skin pebbling with anticipation under them.

"Yasmeen and I talk," Justin muttered, and then gasped as Brian's hands raked down his back to cup his glorious ass, molding and squeezing it between his hands.

Justin retaliated by dipping his head and sucking a nipple into his hot, little mouth, suckling on it with all the enthusiasm of a newborn. Brian yelped and bucked up into Justin as sharp teeth sunk into it and then tugged, sending a sharp jolt of pain mixed with pleasure skittering over his nerves. Brian frowned and looked down at Justin, huffing when the twat just smirked and flicked his tongue over the bruised skin to soothe it

"Don't worry; I gave her the rest of the day off as well," his bratty husband assured as he scattered butterfly kisses across Brian's chest.

"Did you seriously have Yasmeen reschedule my lunch meeting and give her the rest of the day off just so we could have sex?" Brian asked, more amused than anything else as he pushed Justin away so he could look into his eyes.

"Are you seriously complaining about this?" Justin asked, arching a skeptical brow.

"No, I just wanted to make sure we were on the same page," Brian chuckled and then hissed when Justin pushed his hands away and went back to his ministrations, his teeth and tongue marking fine work of his chest. "I'm so proud; I taught you well."

"Good," Justin rasped, dragging his tongue up over his chest and neck until his mouth hovered over Brian's mouth, fire in his lust-drun ask eyes as he impatiently demanded. "Then fucking get on with it."

"Such a bossy bottom," Brian purred, half-mast eyes tracing over the flushed face above his. "It's a good thing I like it when you turn into a raving, sex monster."

"Learned from the master," Justin smirked, drawing another groan from Brian as he ground his hips down into Brian's lap. "So, what the fuck are you going to do about it?"

Brian growled, grabbed Justin by the back of his neck and yanked his husband bodily against him, groaning as Justin's mouth immediately fell open under his assault. He delved into the heat of Justin's mouth, his tongue licking and plundering it, seeking a response that came in an instant. Justin wrapped his arms around Brian's neck and crushed their bodies further together, rocking his hips sinuously against Brian.

He raked his hands down over Justin's back and then slid them up, taking Justin's shirt with them, relinquishing Justin's lips only long enough to rip the shirt from his body and toss it to the floor. Wrapping his arms around Justin once more, Brian reclaimed his husband's lips, one hand wrapping tightly around the back of his neck and the other sliding down his back, and plunging into his pants to palm his delectable ass.

Teasing his fingers along the crack of Justin's ass, he circled the tight ring of furled skin until Justin hissed his impatience and rocked his ass back into Brian's hand. Smirking against Justin's lips, Brian slid just the tip of his finger past the first ring of muscle, growling when his finger came away already wet. Fucking little tease.

"Get undressed, now!" he commanded, smirking when Justin didn't even hesitate; he stood in one smooth motion and hastily dragged off the rest of his clothing.

Brian tore off his suit jacket and undid his cuff links, tossing them to the desk before he tore off his dress shirt as well. He reached down and quickly unbuckled his belt and pants, and had just managed to shove them down to his ankles when his lap was once more filled with hot, sweat-kissed blond, a leaking erection pressed firmly against his stomach. Justin purposefully wiggled around in Brian's lap, likely to both get comfortable as well as drive Brian mad with desire.

"I want to ride you, right here, right now, in this chair," Justin purred as he rocked against Brian, his sweat and pre-come slicked cock sliding against Brian's, making his eyes roll back into his head.

Fuck that felt good.

"And then I want you to pull out and fuck me over the desk," Justin continued, his hands and lips everywhere, teasing, stroking, pinching, sucking until Brian was nearly ready to come and he hadn't even gotten inside the twat yet. "And then, after you've rimmed me for what feels like an hour, I want you to fuck me against the wall."

"Shit, Sunshine," Brian gasped, stilling his husband's wandering hands so that things didn't end before they'd even really begun; and told the squirming brat so. "Keep talking like that and I won't last long enough for you to get that ride."

"The fucking fuck me already," Justin demanded, gasping when two of Brian's fingers slid along the crack of his ass and then slid home, the tips scraping along his prostate.

"Someone came prepared," Brian murmured, plunging his fingers in as far as they would go, his dick painfully hard as he imagined Justin opening himself up at home in preparation for their impromptu assignation.

"Didn't want to wait," Justin muttered and then moaned as he pumped his hips and ground his ass into Brian's hand, small, desperate noises spilling from his lips as he rode Brian's fingers. Brian scissored his fingers, checking to make Justin was ready before sliding them out and palming his ass.

"Then pony up," He joked, snickering when Justin looked at him in disbelief. "It's your rodeo, Sunshine."

"I can't believe you just said that," Justin groused as he rose up onto his knees; he clasped Brian's dick in his hand, and, breath catching in his throat, he positioned himself above Brian and slid down onto his cock in one slow, smooth stroke. "You're lucky I'm too fucking horny right now smack you for that comment."

Brian just chuckled and rubbed Justin's back as he adjusted; which didn't take long. And then he groaned as Justin set a hard, fast pace, sliding up and down his shaft like a man possessed; fuck that was hot. Justin's kittenish mewls bledinto loud cries as he shifted in Brian's lap and changed the angle so that each thrust scraped against his prostate. Gripping Justin's hips, he met Justin thrust for thrust; grinding his dick in as far as it would go with every pass, his heart thundering in his ears as heat and mind-numbing pleasure washed through his body.

He grabbed the back of Justin's neck and plunged his tongue into his mouth, devouring his husband as Justin rode him for all he was worth; their skin slapped rhythmically together, and he had to clench his teeth against the heat building in his gut, as Justin bounced in his lap, his hot, slick walls gripping Brian until they finally clenched around him as tight as vise. Justin cried out, his head thrown back, and mouth parted, as he came without being touched, spilling hotly between the two of them.

Brian growled and cinched his arms around Justin's waist, holding him to his chest as his husband rode out the rest of his orgasm, and thrust one, two, three more times before he found his own release. Groaning, Brian clutched at Justin's back as his vision grayed a bit around the edges, and he saw little specks of light that almost looked like stars, before he slumped back in his chair with an armful of sated blond.

"Fuck," Brian panted and tried to get his breath out, still trying to figure out what brought that on; and then figured that he didn't really care as he pressed butterfly kisses over Justin's face and neck as he came back to himself. Justin giggled almost drunkenly and squirmed away from the soft, tickling caresses, but stilled, his dick twitching in interest when Brian pressed his lips to his and whispered. "Give me a few minutes and round two is a go."


	16. January 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I was told that a mild tissue warning might be needed for this vignette. Consider yourself warned.

**January 16**

Cynthia smirked and barely held back an amused chuckle as Brian rolled his eyes and nodded for the dozenth time. He had his office phone pressed against his ear, impatiently listening as Kellie from Eyeconics blathered on and on about the reason for yesterday's rescheduled lunch meeting, her syrupy sweet voice likely grating his nerves. Justin had been one of Kellie's favorites since his Vanguard days; and she was usually on the phone, cooing over him, at even the whiff of a rumor that he was unwell.

His pregnancy had only made the situation worse.

Brian cast an exasperated look over at Justin, who blatantly ignored it and continued sketching out the pitch idea that they'd just been discussing. When Yasmeen came into the room to announce that Kellie was on the phone, and was _not_ taking no for an answer, the two of them had had a brief squabble over who was going to answer the call. A fight that Justin won by pointing out that if he were to get on the phone, they would never get Kellie off of it and they needed to focus on this pitch since the meeting was scheduled for the next week.

Brian had huffed, but conceded to the argument, as it was well known that Kellie merely tolerated Brian because he was the best in the business and made her lot of money.

"Yes, Kellie," Brian said, his voice striving for bland and failing as his exasperation for the woman and his husband started to bleed through. "I appreciate the call and I'm sorry that we had to cancel with such late notice, but these things can't be helped."

Brian paused and pinched the bridge of his nose before averting his eyes to the ceiling as if he were praying for patience. And then he looked sharply at Justin, a frown on his face and his brow furrowed with confusion. Justin just looked up with an innocent smile that fooled no one; evident by the way that Brian glowered at him.

"Yeah, I have to admit it was a bit scary at first, but luckily it turned out to be nothing," Brian continued, still glaring at Justin. "I'll admit that I may have overreacted a bit when he told me he wasn't feeling well, but better safe than sorry."

Justin snickered to himself, but remained silent. Cynthia arched an eyebrow, trying to will him to tell her what was going on, as she sensed there was a story there, but he just shook his head and mouthed, _'Later.'_ Cynthia huffed and turned her attention back to Brian, knowing she'd get more information out of him just by his reactions.

Although, she had heard the rumors swirling around the office and had a pretty good idea of what happened yesterday. While Justin may have had the sense to give Yasmeen the rest of the day off, the office had been full of people and the walls, while not paper thin, weren't all soundproofed much to her annoyance.

Thankfully, she had been out of the office, meeting with the CEO and his entourage of their newest account and hadn't been here for her boys' latest 'performance.' But, if the way Murph blushed and averted his eyes every time he passed Brian's door was any indication, it had been quite an afternoon for the staff.

"Yes, he's doing much better today," Brian said, turning away from a remorseless Justin with another roll of his eyes.

Cynthia could have told him that it wouldn't work. It never did. If Brian had really expected to shame his husband for his actions, he'd forgotten who he was dealing with; Justin had learned from the best after all, and he never felt shamed by his sexuality. If there was anything Brian had done right in the beginning of their 'relationship,' it had been instilling a sense of confidence and acceptance in Justin. As a result, Justin never apologized or made excuses for who he was.

Much like another person she knew.

"I'll be sure to pass that on the next time I see him, Kellie, " Brian said, his infamous tongue in cheek smirk on his face as he glanced over at Justin. "Thank you for calling and I'm looking forward to our meeting next week."

Brian hung up the phone and swiveled his chair around to stare at Justin, who, for his part stared right back at Brian blandly. The staring lasted for several moments until the door opened and Yasmeen walked in with a tray filled with the sandwiches, fruit and salad that Cynthia had ordered for this meeting. Nodding her thanks, Cynthia grabbed a plate and began filling it as Brian looked at Yasmeen with a sly smile.

"So, you told them that I had a family emergency in regards to the pregnancy?" Brian asked with one brow arched.

"I was merely relaying the information given to me by Mr. Taylor-Kinney, Sir," Yasmeen said with a smirk, making Cynthia snort with amusement. She smiled proudly at her protégé; she'd trained her well. Not that she needed much to begin with; best hire ever.

"Yeah, I just bet you were," Brian drawled, casting an amused glance at Justin as Yasmeen took her leave. "You and I need to have a conversation about your definition of emergency, Sunshine."

"I desperately needed to get laid yesterday." Justin stated baldly, completely unrepentant in his actions. "To me, it _was_ an emergency."

Brian snorted. "Getting back to the subject at hand," he said as he stood and walked back over to the sitting area, a file in his hands. "Are you certain that they wanted to go with…" Brian trailed off as Justin stood at that moment, paled considerably and staggered on his feet. Cynthia stood, her heart in her throat as he threw his hands out as if to catch his balance, and then sagged as if he were about to pass out. She was just about to go to him when Brian beat her to it.

"Justin!" Brian cried, fear flashing in his eyes as he dropped the file in his and ran over to Justin; he captured Justin around the waist and pulled him into his chest, pressing his lips against his temple. "Are you okay, Sunshine? Is anything the matter? Is the baby…"

"Yes, yes; I'm fine," Justin interrupted, waving Brian off, although he still sounded a bit winded. He tried to pry himself out of Brian's arms, but Cynthia could have told him that it was fruitless; which he discovered on his own when Brian just tightened his grip. Justin huffed. "Really, I just stood up too fast."

But Brian wasn't having any of it. Pale as milk, he kept a tight grip on Justin and led him over to the couch. "Here, Sunshine; lay down here for a few minutes."

"Brian, I'm fine," Justin groused, trying to fight Brian off, and failing again when Brian just took matters into his own hands, scooped Justin up and plopped him on the couch. "Will you cut it out? There is nothing…"

"Don't," Brian said, his tone implacable, and Cynthia could see a fine tremor run through his hands as he smoothed Justin's hair back. "Just don't."

"Fine," Justin huffed impatiently, laying back on the couch. "If it will make you feel better…"

"Thank you," Brian said, pressing his brow to Justin's for a moment, breathing him in, before he lifted it and looked over his shoulder. "Cynthia, would you mind going to the break room and grabbing me a wet washcloth?"

"Brian, I really don't need…" Just began again, only to trail off as Brian turned and glared at him.

"Justin." Brian said, his tone brooking no arguments; Justin sighed and rolled his eyes, but remained otherwise silent. "Cynthia, please."

"Of course, Brian," Cynthia said and swiftly walked down the hall toward the break room.

She walked through the door, ignoring the curious glances shot her way; it was rare for Cynthia to go to the break room as she had her own little kitchenette in her office. But the staff break room was closer than her office. She pulled down one of the generic mugs from the cupboard, filled it with hot filtered water from the water dispenser and then measured out some of the peppermint and lavender tea blend into a tea infuser.

She dropped it into the water to steep and opened one of the drawers near the sink and pulled out a dishcloth. Wetting it thoroughly, she rung out the excess water and then grabbed the mug of tea and swiftly headed back to Brian's office, mentally rolling her eyes as a familiar, strident voice echoed down the hall.

"So, what's wrong with the little princess now?" Michael sneered; and Cynthia could just see the ugly expression on his face. "Does he have a tummy ache? I bet he's just faking to get more atten…ow!"

Cynthia smirked as the idiot yelped; one that deepened as she watched Brian drag him out of his office, dumbass' arm firmly clutched in his hand. Brian shoved him towards the entrance way, his lips compressed into a thin white line and his eyes blazing. Michael ripped his arm away and rubbed it, unwisely opening his mouth to complain. But Brian put a halt to it with one raised hand.

"What the fuck is your problem, Michael?" Brian asked between clenched teeth, staring Captain Asshat down. "First, you barge into my office after being told I was in a meeting and therefore unavailable." Michael opened his mouth again, but Brian hissed and made a cutting motion with his hand. "Shut up. I _was_ in a meeting until five minutes ago, when Justin, who is here because he is the requested artist for the campaign I'm working on, had a dizzy spell. Not that I need to explain myself to you in any way, shape or form. And then you dare to accuse him of faking it?"

"Well how was I supposed to know…" Michael groused, acting like a petulant child.

"I told you to shut up," Brian snapped, cutting off his explanation.

And wow, Cynthia had never expected this, but _good_ for him. She'd been waiting for this day for years and wanted to dance a jig in celebration, but held back because it would be undignified. But tonight, drinks were so on her. Moron just gaped at him, stunned that Brian wasn't going to let him talk his way out of his poor behavior.

"You are walking on thin ice with me, Michael," Brian continued. "I warned you just days ago that I would not tolerate your bullshit. _Don't. Test me._ "

Michael spluttered, obviously trying to come up with a good explanation for his antics, but finally fell silent when Brian just glared him into submission.

"By the way," Brian drawled, a sardonic grin on his face and a hard glint in his eyes. "Thanks ever so much for sharing the pregnancy with my mother; couldn't wait to mention the good news, could you?"

Michael flushed a bright, fire engine red and shifted nervously on his feet. Cynthia gasped softly; and suddenly something she'd heard made sense. Pursing her lips, she narrowed her eyes at the little insect she'd desperately wanted to crush under her beloved Louboutin's the first day she'd met him. Oh, that little asshole was so not getting away with this if she had any say in it.

"Yeah, that's what I thought," Brian snorted, obviously reading the non-answer correctly. "Get the fuck out of my office, Mikey; I don't have time to deal with this bullshit. I have someone important to take care of; and newsflash, it's not you." Turning his back on the asshole, Brian smiled tightly and nodded as he took the cloth and mug from her hands. "Thank you, Cynthia. Please take care of _that_ , if you would?"

"It would be my pleasure," Cynthia said, casting the peon an evil smile as Brian walked back into his office. "Shall we, Mr. Novotny?"

The little worm actually looked as if he were going to argue with her, but quieted when she stepped forward with a menacing smile.

"Oh, please do put up a fight, Mr. Novotny," she smirked, watching him swallow harshly with cold eyes. "I would so love to call security and have them throw you out on your flat, rapacious, ungrateful ass."

Dipshit snorted and rolled his eyes, but turned on his heel and stomped towards the door. Cynthia followed at a good distance behind him, smiling at Yasmeen as she paused in the entrance hall to glare at dickhead. Cynthia halted next to her and waited until the jackass was at the door before she called out.

"One more thing, Mr. Novotny," she said, waiting until the imbecile turned around. "If you show up to Kinnetik one more time without an appointment, I will have you permanently banned from the premises. This is an office building, not a kindergarten playground."

"You can't do that," Michael huffed, puffing up like the self-important popinjay that he was; Cynthia was unimpressed. "I'm Brian's…

"Noose around his neck?" Cynthia finished for him, barely quelling a disdainful snort when he sputtered. "Yes, I know. You'll also find that as a fully vested partner in Kinnetik, Mr. Novotny, I can damn well do as I please without even running it by Brian first. And he _will_ support me. Don't test my patience."

Michael sneered, but remained silent as he stormed out of the building; which suited her just fine. But he was in her crosshairs and she'd deal with him when the time was right.

"Please make certain to call security and relay my orders, Yasmeen," Cynthia said to the woman at her side, smiling warmly when she nodded. "Like hell am I going to let that little weasel get near either of my boys while they are here."

Cynthia strode back to Brian's office, Yasmeen at her side, intending to finish the meeting that had been interrupted, but halted as she caught the sound of low voices filtering out of the room.

"Will you stop hovering?" Justin huffed, obviously irritated by Brian's continued mother henning. Not that she'd ever call it that to his face. "Fuck, if it's not you, then it's Em. If it's not Em, then it's Mom. If it's not Mom, then it's Deb. All hovering like people don't have babies every fucking day. Did you hover over Lindsay this way?"

"No," Brian conceded, but continued after a small pause. "But I never loved Lindsay the way I love you."

Cynthia gasped, her eyes misting a little at Brian's words. Of course, she knew that Brian loved Justin. Hell, she'd known that for a long time before even _he_ acknowledged his love for Justin. But he rarely expressed himself so freely and it touched her heart to hear him say the words without hesitation.

"Not fair," Justin muttered petulantly.

"Life's not fair, Sunshine," Brian countered, his tone grave and Cynthia could only imagine the dozen or so things that could be running through Brian's mind. "We learned that a long ago. And if saying that will get you to pause long enough to think things through, then I will use whatever it takes to get you to listen to me."

There was another pause, and some light shuffling as they moved around in the office, before Brian confessed in a low voice.

"I want you safe; I want you around for a long time. You and Sunbeam are my life, and if anything were to happen to you… I can't live without you, Justin. God knows I tried multiple times in the beginning; and each time I failed miserably. My life is nothing without you in it. So, please; if only for my sake, take it easy, okay?"

Cynthia smiled and turned on her heel; she had a feeling that the rest of the meeting was cancelled for the day. Not that she minded; she had plenty to do in her office. She started to walk down the hall, but had to laugh at their final exchange.

"You know, this does bring to light an interesting point about faking illness; given that blatant lie you made to that poor woman who dotes on you yesterday," Brian drawled, and Cynthia could just see his tongue in cheek smirk. "For shame, Sunshine. Now what did we learn about this situation?"

"To always make sure that you're not around when I have my dizzy spells," Justin quipped, his infectious laughter carrying throughout the office.

"Twat," Brian huffed affectionately.

Cynthia grinned, shook her head and vowed that anyone intending her boys harm would have to come through her first.


	17. January 17

**January 17**

Justin cracked one eye and looked at his husband, reassuring himself that he was good and solidly asleep. Sighing when the soft, rhythmic breathing reassured him that Brian was indeed out like a light, Justin carefully slid out of bed, trying to make as little movement as possible. Brian had been a frustratingly light sleeper the past month or so, and it made his escape all the more difficult.

But this just couldn't wait any longer.

Slowly easing his way out of his bed, one eye on Brian the entire time, Justin shuddered as his feet hit the cold floor. Fuck it was cold, even through his wool socks. Silently crossing the room, Justin grabbed his thick robe and threw it on, tightly cinching the belt around his waist. So close to escape, just a few more feet.

He walked swiftly over to the door and opened it, wincing when it creaked, the whine of the hinges blaring through the room at a seemingly deafening level. Gritting his teeth, Justin cast a wary glance over at Brian, and then huffed a silent breath of relief when he saw that his husband hadn't so much as shifted in the bed despite the noise.

Slowly swinging the door open, Justin slipped out and then, twisting the knob so that the latch wouldn't catch in the grove when he closed it and, subsequently, announce his desertion to his slumbering husband, he just as slowly closed the door. Releasing the knob with another slow slide, he breathed a sigh of a relief as the door latch slide into the grove without a hiss or click.

He wanted to beat his head against the door for his sneaky actions; he really shouldn't be lying to Brian this way as it would come back to haunt him in the end. But did it any way, consoling himself with the thought that, if Brian hadn't been acting less than reasonable on this subject, Justin wouldn't have to sneak around his own damned house. And since he _was_ being a controlling bastard, Justin was led to live a life of subterfuge; and, well, desperate times called for desperate measures as they say.

Tiptoeing down the stairs, Justin swiftly, and confidently, made his way through their maze of a house, thankful that he knew the floor plan like the back of the hand. Turning on lights would have potentially drawn attention to his flight and then he'd have to deal with his Supreme Overlord and his ridiculous demands.

It was sad when one couldn't enjoy the fruit of one's labor in their own damned house.

Walking silently into the kitchen, he cast one final glance over his shoulder, just to be certain that he hadn't been followed by his husband; and then smirked and closed the kitchen door when he realized that he was still alone. Striding over to the cupboard, Justin pulled down a large glass and set it on the counter. And then he walked over to the fridge and pulled out a gallon jug of milk before walking back to his glass. He filled it to the top with rich, frothy liquid and then set the container aside.

Just in case he needed more later on.

He then walked over to the cupboard that held all of his and Brian's small appliances; or, at least, the ones they didn't frequently use. Stooping down, he opened the cupboard doors and began shifting them around until he found the crock pot hidden in the back. Pulling it out, he set it on the counter and opened the top to reveal his prize.

Pulling several packets out of the box, Justin grabbed them, and his glass of milk, and then sat down at the island with his little treasure trove. Unwrapping one of the succulent, golden treats, Justin bit down into spongy goodness, and groaned with delight as the cake all but melted on his tongue. God, these were the best.

Taking a long drink of his milk, Justin hummed happily and then took another bite of the snack cake, making little, happy noises in the back of his throat as sugary cream filled his mouth. Really, he didn't understand Brian's objections to his favorite treat. It's not like he was running around, downing endless cans of tuna or trying to sneak sushi. Although, he did have to admit that he missed the latter.

Finishing off his cake, Justin grabbed a napkin out of the dispenser and wiped his hands before taking another long swallow of milk. He looked at the glass and realized that he was going to need more if he went through this amount with just one cake; and he still had three more to go. Standing, Justin walked over to the counter and grabbed the container of milk and brought it back to his seat.

Sitting down on the stool, Justin unwrapped a second snack cake and took a large bite, moaning as more golden sponge cake and white creamy goodness filled his mouth. He squirmed happily, feeling much like a naughty child having gotten away with some egregious transgression; and well, he kind of had, but needs must.

Swallowing the cake, he took a drink of his milk and had just set the glass down onto the counter when a voice broke the silence, scaring the shit out of him.

"Well, well, well," Brian drawled near his ear, sending Justin's heart racing double time as he almost knocked his glass over. Brian swiftly righted it before it tipped and continued on without pause. "What do we have here, Sunshine?"

"Jesus, fuck, Brian!" Justin hissed, scowling at his husband as he pressed a trembling hand to his wildly thrumming heart. "You scared the shit out of me."

"Did I?" Brian hummed crowding up against Justin's back, making Justin's breath hitch as his husband's body heat permeated his robe. Brian wrapped his arms around Justin's waist and yanked him back into the hard plains of his body as he purred. "I would hope that those moans were because you were thinking of me." Brian paused as he tilted Justin's head and swiped a small dab of cream from the corner of his mouth and held it to the dim light filtering through the window. "But somehow I don't think that's the case."

Brian held Justin's rapt gaze and sucked his thumb into his mouth, his tongue slowly flicking out and over the tip of it to remove the cream. Justin inhaled sharply as he watched that talented tongue slide back into Brian's mouth and lost all interest in his forbidden treat as his cock hardened, imaging that tongue elsewhere.

"Brian…" Justin whispered, and then shook his head, trying to dispel the enchantment Brian had cast over him with one simple gesture. "What are you doing here?"

"You know, I could ask you the same thing of you, Sunshine; but I have a feeling I already know," Brian said dryly as he released Justin and sauntered over to the counter and peered into the open crock pot with a smirk. "As for me, I felt it the moment you left the bed; because, in case you hadn't noticed, it's cold as fuck out. And I felt the chill as soon as you lifted the blankets. I watched you through my lashes as you tried so hard not to wake me; a foolish attempt by the way. You were acting so sneaky though, that I knew you had to be up to something; so, I waited for a couple of minutes and then followed you. And it's a good thing I did…"

Brian snickered and arched a brow as he reached into the crock pot and pulled out a box of Twinkies. Justin scowled, flew out of his chair and raced over to Brian, trying to swipe them out of his hand before he could do anything to them. Brian just snorted, a smug smile on his face and held them just out of reach, chuckling as Justin grappled with him and stood on his tiptoes in an effort to reach his treasured treats. But of course he failed as Brian had a good five inches on him in height.

Huffing, Justin gave up and stomped back over to the center island, throwing himself onto the stool in a high dudgeon; sneering at his smug husband, he quickly scooped up the remaining two Twinkies and shoved them into his robe pockets. Because like hell was he relinquish them any time soon. Brian just tipped the box into the light to get a better look at it and shook his head before tossing the box onto the counter.

"I should have known the only thing that could get you to make that particular sound - you know, besides me - is your forbidden Twinkies," he drawled, crossing his arms over his chest. "I thought we agreed that Twinkies were on the do not eat list."

"No, you agreed," Justin groused, stabbing an irritated finger in his husband's direction before jerking back with his thumb. "Me? I blatantly ignored you because it's my body and I will damn well eat what I want so long as it's not detrimental to me or Sunbeam."

"Justin…" Brian sighed, rubbing his hand wearily over his face when Justin cut him off.

"Nope, not going to happen, buster," Justin said, jutting out his chin. "The day you get pregnant, we can discuss what will and will not be consumed in this house. Until then, I will eat my damned Twinkies, and _you can't stop me._ "

"We'll see about that," Brian muttered almost inaudibly as he strode back towards Justin.

"Yes, we will," Justin hissed defiantly, backing away from his husband, as he remembered all too well what had happened the last time Brian had discovered his secret stash of Twinkies. While it had initially been fun, his ass had been sore for days due to post glow and he could barely sit much to everyone's amusement.

"That sounded like a challenge, Sunshine," Brian purred, still walking towards him in an unhurried gait. "And you do know how much I love a challenge."

"Do your worst?" Justin spat, trying to sound confident in his stance, but the faint question at the end betrayed his uncertainty. And the asshole knew it.

"Oh, you're going to regret that, little boy," Brian chuckled, in full on predator mode by now; and fuck, Justin didn't think he could get any harder if he tried. "In the meantime, I have a better way to occupy your time rather than having you sneak around in the middle of the night, eating those disgusting snack cakes that you insist on buying. And mark my words; we will be discussing that, Sunshine."

"You'd have to catch me first," Justin stated boldly, a challenging grin on his face as he spun around and hurried out of the kitchen.

"Run while you can, little boy," Brian called, swiftly following on his heels. "Just remember that for every additional minute I spend chasing you, is one more smack on your pretty ass."


	18. Chapter 18

**January 18**

Brian rubbed the back of his neck and looked up from the computer, finally satisfied with the new boards for the new Eyeconics campaign. And it only took him three days of brow beating his art staff and then finally dragging Justin away from his studio to get it done. If he could only find a way to clone Justin, his work would be so much easier as he wouldn't have to repeat himself over and over again.

Then again, more than one Justin, while fun for a while, would likely end up being the death of him given the way he attracted trouble.

Sighing, he took a sip of his now lukewarm coffee and grimaced; ugh, that was for shit. Standing, he smiled as Gus lifted his head for a brief moment, before going back to his books and note taking. It was always nice to spend time with his, Sonny Boy; even if they weren't saying anything. Walking over to his wet bar, Brian dumped the cup down the sink and refilled it. Dumping an unhealthy amount of sugar into his cup, Brian swirled it with a coffee stick and walked back to his desk to finish up the work he'd brought home.

It had been a quiet Saturday morning, with Justin sleeping late due to his late night Twinkie adventure and subsequent 'punishment.' (Although, it wasn't much of a punishment when the twat enjoyed it so much.) Brian, on the other hand, had been up well before dawn as the munchers planned to drop off his Sonny Boy before they went on their latest adult-only weekend retreat.

Why they couldn't leave late last night, and save them all the early morning drop off, he didn't know; but, at least, it worked out to his advantage. He'd been able to get several hours of work done this morning without having to listen to Justin bitch about his working on the weekends. As if _he_ were one to talk with his working on the nursery mural and sudden bursts of artistic inspiration. But, apparently, it was somehow different, as Justin said that he found painting or sketching to be relaxing, while Brian just turned into a _'big ball of stress._ ' his words.

But unfortunately, having your own business wasn't a nine-to-five, five-days-a-week-only job. It was a 'you will work whenever the hell you are needed because your staff can't seem to even shit without you' job, built up around the 'I am the customer and it will be my way or the highway' mentality. In other words, he didn't get a fucking break, and completely work-free weekends were a thing of the past; especially if he wanted to have everything in order for when he took paternity leave.

So, he and his Sonny Boy had retreated to his study, where Gus had flopped down on the couch and went back to sleep, while Brian started on his e-mail. He'd worked for about four hours straight, his only company being that of his Sonny Boy's snores; until, finally, Gus had awoken and shuffled off for a quick bowl of cereal before joining him in the study once more to work on his weekend homework.

Rubbing his hand over his eyes, Brian went back to the figures on his computer, and smiled when he heard familiar tread of footsteps making their way past the door towards the kitchen. He glanced at the clock and was surprised to note that it read eleven o'clock in the morning; and then snickered, he must have worn the twat out last night.

Smirking to himself, Brian took a long drink of his refreshed coffee, absently listening to the normal sounds of Justin puttering around in the kitchen while his coffee brewed. And that had been a bit of a contentious point between them. He was of the firm belief that Justin shouldn't be drinking it at all, but he'd been firmly overruled.

Although, hopefully, if things go right...

Brian had just taking another sip of his coffee when he heard a loud clatter in the kitchen, followed by a string of expletives that had him near blushing and Gus snickering at the other desk. Concerned, Brian was just about to get up and check on Justin when heavy footsteps stomped in his direction.

His husband stormed into the room in a high dudgeon, hair still sticking up in every direction as if he'd just rolled out of bed, which he likely had; clad in light-grey sweats and [a long-sleeved blue shirt with a baby peeking through a zippered slit](https://imgur.com/Nrzitl7) on his belly. And where he'd gotten that shirt, he didn't know, but he needed to fire the person bought it for or sold it to him because like Justin needed any more ratty t-shirts.

Justin stormed over to his desk and slammed a coffee mug down on the desk in front of him, a snarl on his face. The sugared and creamed brown liquid sloshed dangerously in the mug, but luckily didn't spill out onto his very expensive, antique, mahogany desk. Otherwise he'd have to pull him over his lap for a firm spanking.

" _What_ is this shit?" Justin sneered, pointing to the liquid in the mug.

Brian glanced down at the mug and then looked back up at Justin with an arched brow and a bland smile on his face. "Coffee?"

"No, _this_ is not coffee!" Justin snarled, stabbing his finger at the mug in question. "This is some decaffeinated shit that you tried to substitute for my coffee and failed miserably! Which would have been obvious had you'd actually tasted it before trying to be sneaky and pouring the beans into my regular container."

Fuck; he probably should have tasted it. But he'd taken Ted's word for it when he said he'd used the brand and Blake hadn't even noticed the difference. Then again, Blake used to drink the Diner's coffee without flinching, and Justin had become a true connoisseur of the stuff due to Brian's influence. So, he really should have done more research on that before making the switch. However, in his defense, he'd been a bit sleep deprived lately.

Brian met his husband's glare head on and quickly tried to come up with a plausible explanation for the switch, but couldn't. He was busted and he knew it; so he went with the only defense he had left.

"The book said…" Brian said, cringing internally at his almost pious tone; Christ, this pregnancy really was screwing with his head. He needed to do a ball check after this conversation just to make sure they were still there.

"I don't care what the book said," Justin cut in with a near fanatical gleam in his eyes. "My doctor said I can have one cup of coffee per day. And I will damn well have my one cup of coffee per day."

Yeah, that would be the asshole that overrode him and reassured Justin that, _'of course, you can drink coffee every day. In fact, you can safely consume up to 200 mg, which is the equivalent of twelve ounces of coffee, per day. Although, I would prefer you stick one cup. No need to tempt fate.'_ He wasn't sure what Justin had wanted to do more in that moment – cry in relief or dance a jig.

"Be reasonable, Sunshine," Brian tried again, but wisely shut up when Justin hissed and bared his teeth.

"There is no reasonable about this shit," Justin said in a low, controlled voice that sent a chill down Brian's spine. "I am allotted up one cup of coffee per day and I _will_ get it." Justin held out one hand, palm up. "Give me my damn coffee, now! Or Sunbeam will only have one father to deal with!"

"Okay, okay," Brian huffed and got out of his chair; he walked over to the wet bar and grabbed the container of coffee he'd stored under the sink, because like hell was he going to throw it out. Those were premium grounds. He walked back over and handed it to Justin. "Fuck, here's your coffee."

"Thank you," Justin said, hugging the can to his chest as he gave Brian the evil eye. "I will be putting this back in the cupboard where it belongs and you will leave it there _or else_. No touchies!"

With that messaged imparted, Justin stormed back out of the study and headed toward the kitchen; likely to brew a new cup of coffee. Sitting down heavily in his chair, Brian sighed and rubbed his temples, trying to fight off the headache that was suddenly blooming behind his eyes. And to think, he had the utmost pleasure of dealing with this shit for the next four months. Joy.

"I told you to leave his coffee alone," Gus piped up, snickering as he looked over at Brian, a very familiar tongue in cheek smirk on his face.

Brian huffed again, and mock glared at his Sonny Boy; he wished that he could refute that claim, but he couldn't. When he'd first discussed it with Ted, Gus happened to be in the room. His Sonny Boy had laughed until he was crying and said he couldn't wait for the fireworks to start when his Jus figured out that they'd been messing with his coffee.

"Thanks for the support, Sonny Boy," Brian said dryly, rolling his eyes as Gus just snickered once more.

"Christ, Dad," Gus said, turning back to his books. "Even I know better than to come between Jus and his coffee. You really must have a death wish."

And so spake his darling progeny; so much for having each other's backs.

Turning back to his computer, Brian pulled up the internet, typed a few words into Google and began his research on decaf coffees because like hell was he giving up on this venture yet. He will find a way to limit Justin's caffeine intake  if it was the last thing he did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, the great caffeine debate; how fun that is. Since there is a lot of conflicting information on whether or not caffeinated items can consumed during pregnancy, I did a little research. According to the American Pregnancy Association, pregnant women can safely consume up to 200 mg of caffeine per day, which is the equivalent of 12 ounces of coffee. Of course, you have to keep in mind that caffeine is found in some foods and other beverages, so that’s something to watch for. But don’t worry; Justin isn’t consuming 12 oz. of coffee a day. He’s actually getting about 6 oz., which is the industry standard cup size on coffee machines. Each of those cups listed on your average coffee machine is a lie; it’s not 8 but 6 ounces. It makes sense given the size of a coffee cup, but still - LIES. BTW, sorry to burst decaf lovers bubbles, but decaf DOES taste different from fully caffeinated coffee; it’s not necessarily bad tasting, but there is a significant difference. [This article explains why.](https://qz.com/734787/the-science-of-why-decaf-doesnt-really-taste-like-normal-coffee)


	19. January 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Just a quick FYI:** I ate something that made me ill today, and due to that, haven't really been ab;e to do much writing. I did finish today's vignette, but just barely. Hopefully I'll feel better tomorrow and will be able to get the next one out; but if I can't, then I'll apologize now and will get it up asap. Thanks for reading and for all the wonderful comments. I've enjoyed reading them and they definitely go a long way in encouraging the muse.

**January 19**

Justin bit his tongue for the…well, he couldn't recall what number of times that night, but judging by the soreness of it, it had to be far more than was healthy. He did, however, give in and mentally rolled his eyes and prayed to hold onto the patience that he felt rapidly slipping away. Just one more hour, and he could pull the tired card and they could get the fuck away from here before he ended up killing Lindsay.

This was a surprise to him, as he fully expected that it would be Michael that tried his last nerve and made him snap tonight. But Michael had been silently sulking on the other side of the table, safely tucked between Ben and Hunter; the both of whom had the presence of mind to cut him off before he could say anything that would've had Justin skewering him to the table like the rodent that he was.

Justin hadn't even wanted to be there that night. After the stunt Michael had pulled a couple of days ago when he barged past Yasmeen, (and he really must have a death wish to have done that; she doesn't forgive stupidity easily), and immediately started in on Justin for reasons only known to him, well Justin was a bit on edge still. The last thing he wanted to do was make nice at the family dinner.

But, as usual, he didn't get a choice in the matter as; first, they needed to drop Gus off since the munchers had come home earlier than expected. (And he wasn't touching that with a ten-foot pole.) And second, when Deb made a summons, one did not ignore if they wanted to keep their hearing for the next week.

Besides, she and his mother were still a bit put out with him for his comments when they'd oh-so-graciously decided to gift him with their presence at lunch on Monday; and he didn't need to add not attending dinner on his list of supposed transgressions. But it also meant that he'd had to deal with Earth Mother Lindsay dropping her little gems wisdom onto his head as if she had any clue what she was talking about.

While male pregnancy wasn't exactly rare these days, it was still a new enough phenomenon that even the experts weren't clear on just how close it mirrored female pregnancy. And that she thought her experience with one birth could in any way, shape or form make her an expert on what he was going through was laughable at best and totally preposterous at worst.

Sighing, Justin added a few more greens to his plate and was reaching for another slice of garlic bread when another piece of chicken mysteriously appeared on his plate. Dropping the bread on his plate, he looked at Brian with no little amount of irritation, only to find him deep in conversation with Carl and the chicken nowhere near him.

And as his mother and Deb were too far down the table to do it, that could only mean one thing. The wannabe Earth Mother had struck again.

"What is this?" Justin asked in a bland tone, instantly garnering Brian's attention; his husband's back stiffened as he turned to see what Justin was talking about; but Justin just ignored him as he stared at his plate nonplussed.

"Well, this is about the time that you should start adding more protein to your diet," Lindsay breezily informed him, making Justin grit his teeth. "It's good for the baby."

Brian groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose as Justin's grip tightened on his utensils. His husband sighed as Justin carefully laid his knife and fork down and reached for his glass of milk, as Brian knew exactly where this was headed. Justin took a long, deliberate drink of his milk, set the glass back down on the table, wiped his mouth with his napkin and then faced Mel, a polite smile on his face.

"So, Mel," Justin started conversationally, trying very hard to hold onto the remains of his temper; which he wholeheartedly admitted had been very short lately. Brian tensed beside him in anticipation of what he presumed was going to be a headache in the making. But tough cookies. "When were you going to tell us that Lindsay grew a dick? That must suck for your love life."

Conversation around the table came to an abrupt halt as Mel snorted into her drink and Carl choked on his beer. The silence reigned for several drawn-out moments before Debbie cackled in delight and Brian let out a loud bark of laughter; Em pressed his face into Drew's shoulder, trying to fight back his own laughter, an unsuccessful venture, evident by his silently, shaking shoulders. Drew just took in the entire scene with a bemused smile.

Ben ducked his head and smirked, his hands firmly covering Jenny's ears, while Gus looked between his mother and Justin with horrified disgust and then grumbled as he went back to his meal. Michael looked as if he was torn between laughing and scowling, leaving him with a weird amalgamation of both. And as for Lindsay; she sat there spluttering with an offended look on her face.

"Last I looked she hadn't," Mel said, laughter in her voice, and willing to play along if for no other reason to find out why Justin said it. "Why do you ask, Baby?"

"Well, I just thought that since she has suddenly become an expert on male pregnancy," Justin continued lightly, as if he hadn't just dropped the biggest shit bomb on the entire table. "She _must_ be speaking from personal experience."

"I beg your pardon?" Lindsay gasped, finally having found her voice.

"As you should," Justin said sternly, deliberately misunderstanding her words as Brian just shook his head in resignation. "You've spent the _entire_ evening trying to force me to eat shit I don't need or want to eat, trying to take away shit I _do_ want to eat, trying to advise me of the best way to handle my pregnancy, trying to control my actions, including trying to tell me what kind of sex I can or can't have with my husband, and in general just being a nosy, meddling pain in my ass."

Brian chuckled and toasted Justin with his glass; Justin smiled at his husband and kissed him on his cheek for his show of support.

"Well, I just thought that you might like some advice from someone who's gone through it," Lindsay said huffily, her back ramrod straight.

"Hence my question," Justin said slowly, as if talking to a small child, an irritated frown on his face. "Because the only way you can know _anything_ about male pregnancy is if you'd suddenly sprouted a dick while you were carrying Gus. Just because something did or did not happen during your pregnancy Linds, doesn't mean I'm going to experience any of the same issues. Who are you to judge…" Justin paused and held up a hand when Lindsay opened her mouth to respond. "No, really, _who_ are you to judge what my needs are?"

Lindsay gaped at him, as if she'd honestly hadn't expected him to call her out on her bullshit. Brian snorted softly, but continued eating as if to say he was not getting involved in their little showdown; a wise move on his part. The rest of the table watched the two of them with a mixture of emotions, ranging between amusement to surprise to anger. No guesses needed on who fell into the latter.

Like Justin gave one fuck what the spoiled brat thought.

"The fact is," Justin continued before she could regain her senses and say something that would just end up pissing him off further. "You know nothing about my pregnancy as you have no part in it. Case in point – you were just trying to serve me a, completely unnecessary, extra helping of chicken right now; which, granted, was well-intentioned, but misguided. I don't need the extra iron. I am not anemic; and I have already made certain to eat all the required protein I need for the day. And even if I hadn't, it is not up to you to correct my behavior."

"Well, how was I to know…" Lindsay huffed, her lips pursing when Justin snorted.

"That is exactly my point, Lindsay," Justin said with a smug smile. "You can't know, so don't assume."

Lindsay bristled and narrowed her eyes, and Justin could see her gearing up for one of her snide little remarks that usually had the others feeling as they were failures; but had never affected Justin much to her annoyance. He had been born WASP from a family of WASPs too and knew how to beat her at her game.

"Well, I just felt that due to a showing unwise behavior by working through your pregnancy that a little advice might be needed," Lindsay snapped, her little stinger out and buzzing away; but she'd miscalculated greatly and the words fell short of their mark. "After all some of those paints can be quite toxic and…"

She trailed of when Justin laughed at her attempt to upbraid him and imply that he was an unfit parent because he was using potentially harmful substances while pregnant. _Oh, Lindsay, Lindsay, Lindsay; you are beyond predictable._

"And that would lead me to my second point," Justin said with a smirk, getting a bit of a perverse thrill when Lindsay's cheeks flushed a dark shade of red. "Again with the assumptions," Justin shot her a pitying look that had her back stiffening further. "First of all, I do not need you to tell me what I can and cannot do in my own damned studio; it is, quite frankly, none of your damned business."

Lindsay huffed, but didn't back down; not yet anyway. Foolish of her, as she should have remembered that Justin was well-versed in this game and he wouldn't have said something if he couldn't prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that she was talking out of her ass. Well, one day she'd learn. Maybe.

"But since you brought it up," Justin continued with a snide smile. "Outside of the mural in Sunbeam's room, I'm _not_ painting right now. Ah, yes, surprised you with that didn't I? It just proves you don't have any idea what you're talking about; as usual."

Justin paused to take a drink of his milk, pinning the annoying woman to her chair with only his eyes, a feat he'd learned at the feet of his mother; and had succeeded too if Lindsay's silence was any indication. Well, he had learned from the best. No one could out WASP his mother; she had the ability to make you fee about two-inches tall with nothing more than a quick flick of her eyes. Setting aside his glass, he continued.

"My upcoming show is primarily made up of soft pastels, which are not an issue. Not to mention that my agent and I have had this show planned months before I got pregnant; so, most of my pieces were completed before I even found out about Sunbeam. I only have a couple of pieces to work on, which I do in between work on the mural."

Lindsay opened her mouth once more, but Justin cut her off, knowing damned well where she was going.

"And before you say anything about my painting in Sunbeam's room, I am using zero-VOC, all-natural paints by Valspar and BioShield. I am also using non-toxic solutions for cleaning my brushes. So, whatever half-baked argument you're forming needs to die right now. I'm well aware of the potential issues with painting in my condition and have taken multiple precautions against said problems."

Lindsay's mouth snapped shut and she turned away, obviously irritated that he ripped all of her arguments to shreds and merrily tapped danced all over them.

"Not that it's any of your business. I can take care of myself just fine without yours, or for that matter, anyone else's meddling," Justin said, casting a knowing look at other members of their family, who had recently been on the same kick. To their credit, they did have the grace to send him apologetic looks.

"I don't have to put up with this," Lindsay said in a haughty tone, her lips pursed into a prissy, little bow.

"Then I suggest you just sit there and look pretty," Justin said sotto voce, drawing another snort from Brian. "It's what you do best anyways."

Hey, if she was going to be bitchy, so was he.

Lindsay huffed and then, since she wasn't going to get more of a reaction from Justin, turned to a surprisingly quiet Mel and demanded, Well, aren't you going to say anything!?"

"Nope," Mel snorted, eating her dinner as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. "I told you to mind your own business days ago. You didn't want listen to me, thinking you knew better; so, you deal with the consequences on your own."

And that was exactly opposite of what Lindsay had been expecting; growling, she took a deep breath and put on her best beseeching look and turned to Brian.

"Brian?" Lindsay pleaded, thinking she was going to find sympathy with 'her Peter.' Little did she know that Peter left Never Land the moment Wendy used that art review to her advantage, nearly breaking them up; and then took his son away from him in the same month.

Peter had no sympathy for Wendy's refusal to grow up; which was all too apparent when Brian turned to Justin and kissed him on the temple, his voice dripping honey as he said, "Well said, honey." And then he paused, a moue of disgust on his face as he chided. "Only next time, I could do with out the visual of Linds with a dick; I think I threw up a little in my mouth at the thought."


	20. January 20

**January 20**

Justin let out a sigh and clicked on yet another thing to add to his ever growing list. He ran a frustrated hand through his hair and bit his lower lip as he scanned the seemingly endless offerings with more than a jaded eye. God, this was taking fucking forever, even with all the research he'd done prior to his undertaking.

Exhaling explosively, Justin read through yet another review of some recommended item that someone, (although, he couldn't remember who at the moment), had told him that he just needed this particular item to make his life easier. Sometimes, he felt more like he was planning a war campaign than planning for a baby. Who knew that something so small needed all this shit?

Thank God that, between his art career, Babylon and Kinnetik, Brian and he didn't really have to worry about the financial burden of having and supporting a child. He couldn't imagine how anyone could afford to have a child these days on an average salary. But then again, he guessed that was partially why registries were invented.

Justin wearily rubbed his eyes and added the…whatever the hell this thing was, to his list because at this point, he just didn't care. After building a list at two other stores, he was beyond done with anything baby related and wanted nothing more than to go curl up on the chaise lounge and take a nap. Closing his eyes, Justin shut out the world around him and gave himself a bit of a pep talk. He only needed to add a few more things and then he could shut the computer down and forget about it.

"Why are you on _that_ site?" said an irritated voice by his ear, startling a strangled yelp out of Justin. He turned around, his hand clutching at his chest as he glared at his, now, snickering husband.

"Jesus Christ, Brian!" Justin groused, his heart still hammering in his chest as he turned around and faced the computer screen once more, all hints of fatigue gone. "Will you make some fucking noise when you come up behind me? You scared the shit out of me and I don't need the added stress."

"Hey, not my fault," Brian said, pressing a kiss to the side of his neck. "I did make plenty of noise as I came in; but you were so intent on what you were doing, a marching band could have paraded by and you wouldn't have noticed. And you didn't answer my question; _why_ are you on _that_ site?"

"I'm setting up a baby registry," Justin sighed, his heart finally settling back into its natural rhythm. "I told you that."

"But Target?" Brian sneered, his disdain for the store all too apparent, but tough cookies. He wasn't going to set up a registry with Baby Prada or Saks Fifth no matter how much of a label queen his husband was; if Brian was intent on outfitting the kid in designer clothing, he could buy them himself.

"Not all of us are label queens, Brian," Justin rolled his eyes and added a baby bottle warmer to the list; actually, he put two on there as, this time, it was definitely something he found to be useful. Plus he did _not_ want to be trekking all the way to the kitchen in the middle of the night for a bottle. "Be glad I didn't set one up at the Big Q."

"Over my dead body," Brian hissed indignantly, a scowl on his face. "I will burn anything that comes from that store."

"And just how would you know if there are no tags on the items," Justin snickered as he placed a travel bottle and food warmer on the list; it hadn't been something he'd originally considered, but it definitely sounded like a handy item to have for those times he was out and about.

"I'll know," Brian said in a snooty tone, making Justin roll his eyes again. "Anything that comes from _that store_ is covered in layers of desperation and reeks of despair."

"You are such a snob," Justin huffed, clicking on the tab for his last item – diaper bags – and prayed that he found something that Brian would immediately toss in the trash. So far, every single one he'd seen had flowers or bright geometric designs or cutesy baby animals and there is no way in hell that Brian would _ever_ carry one of those around. "I don't even know how I've put up with you all these years."

"You love me." Brian said with a certainty born of years of reassurances and quiet moments filled with love; and Justin couldn't help but smile that Brian could say that without any hesitance or question in his voice.

It had taken years for them to kill the very real demons in both of their lives and to feel this at ease with each other; to feel comfortable enough in their own skins to freely express their feelings without worrying if the other person would use them to further an agenda or throw them back in the other's face. And he would happily go through it all again if it meant that they ended up in this place here and now.

"I just don't see why we need a registry," Brian huffed, throwing himself on the couch. "It's not like we can't afford to get anything and _everything_ we want or need. We're not exactly hurting for money, Sunshine."

"Because our family and friends will want to celebrate with us," Justin said, and then gave a triumphant cry when he found exactly what he was looking for in a nice, understated, solid charcoal black color. Now this Brian wouldn't heave all over the moment he saw it. Justin added it to the list and sat back with a sigh, feeling very accomplished with his day. "Besides, do you know what the lack of a registry says?"

Brian arched a brow in inquiry.

"It says, 'feel free to buy anything you want since we don't care what we get,'" Justin said, crossing his arms over his chest with a knowing smile. "Do you really want to give some of our friends and family that kind of freedom? If you're fine with that, I'll happily delete the list and do something else."

And he wouldn't really; but Brian didn't need to know that. He didn't spend three fucking hours on these lists just to delete them immediately; and if his husband even thought he would, he was crazy. Brian just grimaced at his words, but still looked reluctant to admit that Justin was right; so, Justin added more fuel to the fire with a perfect, recent event.

"I have a three-page to do list to get through; I have plenty to do to get us ready that doesn't include going through page after page of shit for a registry," he said, his hand hovering over the keyboard as if he were getting ready to delete the list. "However, if we don't make a registry or two and send them to everyone, I don't want to hear you bitching when Em buys more Rainbow Baby clothing."

"Okay, okay; you've made your point," Brian sighed, holding his hands up in surrender, and then frowned and sent Justin a sharp look. "And what do you mean you have a three-page to do list? Where is mine?"

Whoops; shit, he didn't mean to mention that.

"Brian," Justin said, and then quickly snapped his mouth shut when Brian's frown deepened and he sat up straight on the couch. Shit. This was going to be a fun conversation. "Look it's not a big deal; I'm home most of the day. You have a company to run. So, me taking on the bulk of the baby planning makes sense."

"Except that it sounds like you're doing everything, while I'm not doing a damned thing," Brian huffed with exasperation and then held out a hand. "I'm not okay with this, Sunshine. Let me see that list and I will divide it between us."

"And have you hand the list off to Yasmeen?" Justin huffed contentiously; and that was exactly the wrong thing to say judging by Brian's look. He knew that look. It was the same one he got when he'd told Brian that he was going to work for the Sap. It was his 'you are a complete idiot and I have no idea why I love you' look. "I know how busy you get, Brian. I'd rather just do it myself."

"I thought you liked and trusted Yasmeen," Brian said in a bland tone; Justin winced internally knowing there was no way that Brian was going to drop this now. "You said she was your favorite after Cynthia."

"I do," Justin said, trying to smooth the waters; the last thing he needed was Brian getting pissy, or worse, overprotective once again. "I just think that as it's our baby, it's our responsibility and we should be doing all of it ourselves."

Brian sighed and ran his hand through his hair, averting his eyes to the ceiling as if praying for strength. And Justin felt kind of bad for his continued fight over his need for independence, but he just couldn't help himself. He'd struggled and fought for it for so many years that he couldn't seem to put down his sword, even if it were for the best.

"You don't have to do it all by yourself, Sunshine," Brian said quietly, a wry smile on his face. And Brian would know that well considering he'd struggled with the same ghosts as Justin for many years. "It doesn't make you weak or helpless to ask for assistance; stop being a stubborn twat."

Justin looked away, a mulish expression on his face; he knew his husband was right. In fact, he would've probably drawn the same conclusions himself sooner rather than later. He just _hated_ being cornered or pushed into something no matter how good it might be for him. And every time it happened, it made him want to dig his heels in.

"Look, I get it, okay," Brian said, standing and walking over to Justin; he pressed a small kiss to his temple as he wrapped his arms around his shoulders. "I really do. But, as much as our family is made up by mostly nosy, interfering Queens who can't keep a secret to save their lives, they love us and they want to be there. They _are_ your family and they _want_ to help you. You just have to ask."

Justin chewed on his bottom lip, but didn't say anything, still having trouble giving up his control over all things baby. It went against everything in him to let the reigns go to anyone other than Brian; and even then, they tended to butt heads and battled for dominance at times.

"You don't have to get them all involved," Brian continued, resting his chin on the top of Justin's hair. "Because God knows, it would drive me mad if they were all underfoot all the damned time."

Justin huffed out a laugh at that understatement of the year.

"But, you trust Emmett, though God only knows why, with the baby shower; surely he could be of some help."

Brian looked at him knowingly; Justin chewed on the tip of his thumb and remained silent, but did tilt his head to the side to show that he was listening to Brian's words.

"And there is your partner in crime, Blake; who has already been through all of this madness," Brian continued enumerating his potential allies, and Justin couldn't deny that what he said made sense. "And you know damned well that Mother Taylor could whip everyone into shape with a mere flick of her wrist."

Justin smiled as an image of his mother standing over Blake, Emmett and Brian, cracking a whip and demanding they get on with the show filled his head.

"So, utilize them," Brian finished, pressing a kiss to the top of his head.

"Okay," Justin sighed and then nodded, knowing damned well when he was beat.

"Good," Brian said, pulling back to give him one last severe look. "And you _will_ give that list so I can take some of these items off you; and you _won't_ ask me about them again. You know that I will get them done and I don't need you stressing yourself out and making yourself sick."

"Brian…" Justin said, but snapped his mouth shut when the severe look turned into a full on glare.

"Justin." Brian said implacably, holding out his hand.

Justin sighed and reluctantly handed over his prized list; Brian took it and started reading through it, a frown on his face. He sighed, shook his head and sent an exasperated look Justin's way before he walked over to his laptop and booted it up. He spent several minutes looking through the list and typing things into the computer, his fingers flying over the keyboard so fast they were almost a blur.

He then sat up, and clicked something on the screen a couple of times before the printer went on and spat out four sheets of paper. He walked over and pulled them off of the printer and looked them over for a moment. He folded two and put them into his pocket before walking over to Justin and handing him the remaining two.

"Thank you," Brian whispered, pressing his lips to the top of Justin's hair; Justin swallowed thickly, and fought back the tears that sprung up behind his eyes. God, these fucking hormones would be the death of him. Brian wrapped his arms around Justin and murmured quietly. "This is supposed to be one of the happiest times in our lives. I want you well enough to enjoy it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, I know that this chapter seems to be in direct contradiction to the previous chapter. However, there was a reason I didn't have Brian contradict him at the dinner. First off, Brian will always support Justin, even if he disagrees with his stance. But also, Brian didn't confront Justin on his need to hold tight to the baby reigns because he realized that Justin wasn't ready to hear it. He waited until now because he really did want Justin to come to his own conclusions; but when he heard about the three-page list, he decided to force the issue a bit for Justin's own good. Because really, Justin should be relying on his family right now no matter how much they might annoy him.


	21. January 21

**January 21**

Brian shuffled into the diner, half dead to the world and completely uncaring to the way his hair stuck out in every direction, as if he'd just gotten out of bed; which he had. Scrubbing a hand over his face, he grimaced and scratched at the scruff on his neck and cheeks, wishing he'd had the time to shave before coming; but he also knew that the insatiable beast he lived with would have flounced his merry ass over here himself if Brian hadn't gone right that very fucking second.

Yawning, Brian cast an irritated eye over the patrons who sat there staring at him and raised an eyebrow, smirking when they quickly looked away and resumed their conversations. Fuck him over with an eighteen-inch dildo; this was going to be the talk of the Avenue for days. Luckily, he was going out of town for the next few days and he wouldn't have to hear people lamenting the downfall of the Stud.

Like he fucking cared these days.

All he cared about at the moment was getting his little, blond twat's fucking lemon bars, so he could go the fuck home and get some more sleep. Walking up to the counter, he sat down heavily and stared blankly at the wall as he waited for someone to serve him. He closed his eyes and rested his chin on his clasped hands, and wondered how the fuck this was his life. Being sent out at fucking two in the morning to buy lemon squares of all things; and not just any lemon squares; oh, no, they had to be from the fucking diner as _'it just wasn't the same otherwise.'_

The things he did for the brat.

Brian sighed and opened his eyes as he heard someone walk up to him; and then he stared in blurry confusion at a familiar mop of bright red hair and a loud vest filled with buttons thrown over a t-shirt that said, _'If you can't handle the Sass, then you can't handle the Ass._ ' Brian snorted and made a mental not to tell Justin to stop encouraging the woman and her God-awful t-shirts, as he recognized that one.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Brian asked, blinking slowly at the woman who had been more of a mother to him than his own.

"I could ask you the same," Debbie chuckled as she leaned against the counter, a wide smile on her face. "But I can probably guess. You look like shit, kiddo."

Brian, not in the mood for guessing games, just stared blandly at Deb, one brow raised. Deb huffed and rolled her eyes, but answered the question nonetheless.

" _I'm_ here because Kiki twisted her ankle last night and needed a last minute substitute so she could keep her foot elevated…" Deb said, stopping when Brian sat and frowned at her.

"You know, the whole reason I bought this diner and made you manager was so you would have to pull anymore of these shifts," Brian said, decidedly not happy with this turn of events. He had specifically told Deb that as manager she was required to work days for the most part in order to keep her from working herself into an early grave.

"I'm well aware of that, asshole," Deb said with an exasperated huff, placing her hands on her hips and frowning at Brian in kind. "You didn't let me finish. _And_ this was the only night I couldn't find a replacement."

"I stand corrected," Brian nodded and rolled his lips between his teeth in an effort not to laugh at the indignant expression on pseudo-mother's face.

"As you should," Deb said, staring at Brian with a gimlet eye; Brian held up his hands in a placating gesture and mimed a zipping motion over his lips. "And as for you, Mr. High and Mighty; you're here because a certain blue-eyed blond has you wrapped around his finger and was craving lemon squares."

"Two and oh," Brian conceded, an arch smile on his face.

"I do know my Sunshine," Deb cackled, chomping on her gum as if it were going out of style. "Never could resist these things. Although, please tell me he didn't make drive all the way from Britin to get them."

"No, thankfully we're staying at the loft tonight," Brian sighed; Deb's brow pinched in confusion. "I have to fly out in the morning for a client meeting and it was easier to stay in town. And Justin doesn't like sleeping at Britin by himself if he can help it."

Deb's face cleared as she nodded, her earlier confusion quickly replaced by a knowing smirk. "And even if you weren't at the loft, you still would have driven all the way here for his lemon squares, wouldn't ya?"

Brian folded his lips under once more, but this time in an effort to remain silent rather than quell his laughter; not that it mattered as he knew Deb would draw the right conclusion anyways. She knew him far too well for him to ever fool her.

"I told ya," Deb laughed long and hearty, and then, much to Brian's annoyance, pinched him on the cheek like he was fucking five-years-old. "Wrapped you around his finger."

"Can you just get me the fucking lemon squares so I can back and feed my bottomless pit before he decides to walk over himself?" Brian groused, shifting uncomfortably when every eye had turned towards them again. Plus, he knew that if he didn't get these back to Justin soon, the twat would do just that, and then he'd never hear the end of it.

"Sure, sweetheart," Deb said with an indulgent smile, patting him on the cheek; Brian rolled his eyes and huffed in exasperation. "Give me a couple of minutes, and I'll have these things wrapped in no time."

Brian groaned and dropped his head in his hands, blatantly ignoring the curious looks that continued to be shot his way; Justin was so paying for this indignity. Not that he had much of a reputation left to take a beating; people had long stop believing the careless, selfish asshole image that he'd cultivated when he was younger.

"Here you go," Deb said as she walked up with a white, to-go box and set it in front of Brian. "A box of sunshine for our Sunshine."

"Thanks Deb," Brian said and pulled out his wallet to pay; only to put it back when Deb frowned at him since she'd told him long ago that owners shouldn't have to pay for the items twice. "You've saved my life once again."

Brian got up and picked up the box of lemon squares, hoping that his twat would be satisfied with them for now because like hell was he going to hare off and find whatever new craving had struck his fancy in Brian's absence.

"Hey, Brian," Deb said hesitantly; Brian looked up, surprised to see her chewing on her bottom lip, an uncertain look on her face. "About the other day, when Jen and I showed up at your house, we didn't mean to upset…"

Brian sighed; he'd told Justin just to fucking talk to them already. Why the fuck was _he_ the one that was always getting stuck with dealing with all this emotional bullshit?

"Deb, it's fine," Brian smiled reassuringly, and then squeezed her on the shoulder. "You know as well as I do that Justin has already forgotten it. Just, next time, maybe try not to be so heavy-handed with the advice. You know what Justin is like; he's a stubborn twat that needs to figure things out for himself, and will dig his heels in when pushed. Plus, we've had a recent discussion about asking for help. Don't worry about it."

"It just seemed he was still angry at dinner the other night," Deb said, her brow pinched with worry. "He barely said a word to me or Jen and then that argument with Lindsay…"

"First of all, he didn't speak to you or Mother Taylor because he was worried you were still mad at him for mouthing off," Brian snickered, remembering how worried Justin had been on the drive over to Deb's, certain they were both going to rip him a new asshole for his contentious words earlier that week.

"That little brat," Den laughed, relief filling her face and her eyes misting wistfully, as if thinking of some good memory. "We weren't mad; in fact, after the initial shock wore off, we laughed ourselves silly and Jen shared some of this she'd said to her own mother and mother-in-law; and then I shared what it was like to have Vic hovering over me all the time. There were no hard feelings; we remember what the hormones were like."

"Good to know," Brian smirked and made a mental note to tell Justin just to fucking breakdown and call them to work things out. "Maybe the twat will stop walking on eggshells then. As for Lindsay, that is confrontation that has been coming for a long time and stems from events long before the pregnancy. You know that Justin has never forgiven her for going behind his back and showing me that article."

"As well he shouldn't," Deb said with an indignant scowl, her hands pressed firmly against her hips. "It was none of her fucking business. She treated him like a child that didn't know his own mind."

Brian arched a brow at the irony of that statement.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Deb said with a huff, dismissing his unspoken words with a fond smile and a wave of her hand. "I know that Jen and I weren't much better. I'll call him up and invite him to lunch or dinner this week and make amends."

"I would let him stew a little longer actually," Brian snorted, playing with the keys in his jacket pocket. "But do as you must."

"Why would you say that?" Deb asked, surprise and confusion written all over her face. And Brian could very well understand that as he was usually the first one to champion Justin and get into anyone's face if they were causing him undue stress. But in this case, he had blatantly defied the rules they'd set for his continued health and brought the entire situation onto himself. And sometimes, the twat needed to sweat it out a bit.

"Because his bad mood was mostly own fault?" Brian said, and then explained further when Deb just continued to stare at him with bewilderment. "The only reason he was so cranky that day was because he'd overworked himself and hadn't eaten."

Deb's mouth rounded in surprise, and then her lips dropped into an exasperated frown as she shook her head and rolled her eyes.

"What?" Brian said with a smirk. "You honestly think I don't know my husband? I know him much better than he likes sometimes. I just didn't do anything to stop it because a) sometimes Justin needs to learn from his own mistakes and b) I knew you and Mother Taylor wouldn't be able to resist checking up on him when you heard that Anna was gone."

"How could you know…" Deb asked, eyeing him suspiciously.

"Who do you think told Jennifer's friend, Linda?" Brian asked rhetorically, his tongue firmly planted into his cheek.

"You little shit," Deb accused, pointing one of her blood-red fingernails in his face; but Brian just stared at her, defying her to tell him he was wrong. Deb just huffed again.

"As Justin says, 'I'm on to you,'" Brian said with a snicker as he leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. " _All_ of you. "

"You do take real good care of that man," Deb said softly, a tremulous, but pleased smile on her face as she pressed her lips to Brian's cheek, whispering near his ear. "I'm proud of you, kiddo."

Brian closed his eyes for a brief second, his throat constricting with emotions he hated to, and wouldn't, acknowledge, but he didn't need to.

His Ma had always seen right through him.

"Yeah, well, I should get back," Brian said, blowing out a harsh breath and blinking back the moisture in his eyes as he held the box aloft. He turned on his heel and threw his parting words over his shoulder as he headed back to the twat that had wrought so many changes in his life. "Night, Ma."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this didn't go quite as I planned. I had originally meant this to be a Justin and Brian interaction, with a bit of Deb thrown in, all of it wrapped around Brian dealing with more of Justin's cravings. But then this gorgeous Mother-Son moment came about and I am very happy that the vignette didn't follow the script.


	22. January 22

**January 22 – 20 weeks**

Justin stared down at his phone nonplussed, and then blinked to make sure he was reading the display correctly. But no matter how many times he blinked the screen read the same name as it had when it had first buzzed. It wasn’t that it was unusual for Brian to contact him several times a day while he was away; it was that, usually, he refused to use the text function of his phone, preferring to just have an actual conversation so that no one could mistake his meaning.

He hadn't even been to tempt Brian into sexting with him on the few times he’d tied. Brian would just call him up and it would lead to phone sex instead. Albeit, it was glorious phone sex, but phone sex nonetheless;and when asked why he wouldn't, Brian just muttered something about liking to hear the sounds that Justin made when he was close to coming and walked off.

It’s why seeing a text notice from Brian completely threw him; especially when he was supposed to be in the middle of his presentation. Justin looked at his clock, and hummed. Okay, so maybe they were just wrapping up said presentation; the meeting _had_ started about two and a half hours ago. There was a chance they were done by now.

Punching a couple of buttons, Justin pulled up the message and stared at in bewilderment. Although, he did snicker a bit as he could clearly hear husband’s bewildered tone blaring through his head:

_Brian: Who the fuck names their kid Adelbert?_

Justin shook his head; because he really couldn’t answer that question. That name was a form of cruel and unusual punishment; and he could only hope that the poor kid changed it when he grew up or he was going toend up hating life. He hurriedly typed back:

_Justin: Someone cruel, who doesn’t care that their child will become the playground punching bag?_

Justin shrugged and started to set his phone aside, willing to write the entire incident off as an anomoly, but was surprised when his phone buzzed again almost immediately. He unlocked his phone and barked out a laugh; he could just imagine Brian’s eyes rolling and his eyebrow rising as he drolly said:

_Brian: I could have told you that, Sunshine._

Justin laughed again, and walked over to the chaise lounge that sat next to the ceiling to floor windows in his studio. It looked like someone was feeling chatty today. He quickly tapped out a message to his husband.

_Justin: Who the hell is Adelbert? And please tell me you aren’t texting during your meeting. Because I have to say that it does not bode well for said client’s merchandise if even YOU can’t pay attention during the presentation. And you’re giving it._

Justin sat back and sighed as he stared out the window; he really hated when Brian was away on business. The house always felt cold and empty and their bed far too big; which is why he hated sleeping here at Britin when Brian gone. At least with the loft, it was a single room and didn’t seem to echo with the same level of emptiness. Plus, he was closer to everyone, so if he couldn’t stand the quiet any longer, he could always go to the diner or Babylon or Deb’s and someone was sure to be there to keep him company.

Sadly, he had to be out at the house this evening and part of tomorrow morning because he was in the middle of crating his pastels and charcoal drawings for Sidney. And since Sidney was sending a truck over first thing, at nearly the crack of dawn for some ungodly reason, Justin thought it would be better if just caved in and slept at Britin no matter how much he hated it.

Scrubbing his hand over his eyes, Justin looked down at his phone and smiled at the waiting message:

_Brian: Of course, not; I am, as ever, the consummate professional. We’re taking a break so that Adelbert can make changes to the contract. He’s their financial advisor._

Justin chuckled and shook his head, his husband’s indignant reprimand ringing in his ears; he couldn’t help wondering why he was texting and not just calling him. But, then he figured it likely had to do with his current company, and the fact that he could pretend that he was checking e-mail or working on the campaign, and not texting his husband out of sheer boredom.

His fingers flew over the keys as he Brian exchanged the next several tests in rapid succession:

_Justin: That poor kid never stood a chance. It was either become a kick ass financial advisor or a lawyer or be mocked endlessly for the rest of his days._

_Brian: I don’t think anything can salvage that name. Promise me that you will never even think of doing that to Sunbeam._

_Justin: Considering I saved your son from being named Abraham the first night we met, I think I’ve done well with the name game._

_Brian: OUR son. There was one too many letters in that, Sunshine. But you do make an excellent point._

Justin grinned at Brian’s words, a warm glow suffusing his heart as he read the words 'our son.’ He’d never doubted that Brian saw him as one of Gus’ parents; or that Gus himself saw him as a father figure, but sometimes it was nice to hear. Especially when good ‘ole Mikey started making his snide comments or Lindsay was in one of her persnickety moods. Both of which seemed to be happening more and more often since he and Brian had made their baby announcement at Christmas.

Justin honestly couldn’t figure out what the hell their problem was; it wasn’t like his and Brian’s relationship was new. It’d been thirteen fucking years since he and Brian had first met and they were still together. Yes, they’d had their ups and downs that first five years. But after the bombing, and Brian had told him that he loved him and asked Justin to marry him, they had been solid.

It was almost as if they’d expected that New York would put an end to all of Brian’s and Justin’s plans, (and well, it almost _had_ , but that was a sore point that he still didn’t want to think about), and that Brian would return to being the Stud as if nothing had changed. And sometimes, he felt that was exactly what they wanted.

It was difficult to feel superior to someone when that person was so much more successful than you were in all walks of life, including personal relationships; especially when that same person once derided any form of romantic attachment for most of their lives. Frankly, he thought they were jealous, because, despite their so-called maturity, neither Lindsay nor Michael could hold a proper, steady job, could afford a proper home without relying on their significant others, or even maintain a healthy relationship with those same significant others.

But he digressed.

Turing back to his phone, Justin grinned and fired off a text:

_Justin: Speaking of names, guess what I found today?_

He only had a moment to wait before Brian hesitantly texted back:

_Brian: I’m almost afraid to ask knowing the kind of mischief you get into._

Justin rolled his eyes, and could just imagine Brian’s tongue in cheek smirk as he typed the words. Seriously, you call to be bailed out _once_ and they _never_ let you forget about it. It hadn’t even been his and Blake’s fault. They’d just been in the wrong place at the wrong time and had gotten caught up in someone else’s mess. Thankfully, the charges had been dropped once he and Blake had proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that they had no fucking idea who the guy was, let alone what the guy had been up to.

 

_Justin: Ha ha, you’re hilarious. This:_

 

Justin smirked as he sent it, just imaging his husband’s scowl. They had been at the bookstore a few days ago and Justin had suggested picking up a baby name book then and Brian had looked at him like he was crazy. He had no idea what his husband had against it, but had led to a resounding no.

Brian immediately fired back:

_Brian: I am well aware of my rapier wit. And I thought we agreed not to buy a baby name book?_

Tapping his finger against his bottom lip, Justin briefly considered drawing this out a bit longer just to tease Brian; but in the end, went with the truth. He really didn’t want to annoy his husband while he was still working on his pitch.

_Justin: I didn’t buy it. It mysteriously appeared on the kitchen counter while I was at Bloom Gallery, along with this:_

 

_Brian: Mother Taylor strikes again._

_Justin: Yeah, my bet is on her; but it could be Anna as well. God knows they are thick as thieves lately; and while mom has a key, I can’t see her using it to drop this off._

_Brian: Well, Anna is back and they both love to have lunch together when you’re not there, so I’d say it came from both of them; they are forever conspiring against us. Gotta go; Aldelbert is back and the meeting is about to start up again. I should be out of here in an hour, but then I have dinner with the CEO and his wife after, so I’ll call you before I go to bed tonight._

Justin laughed at that. He could very well see his mother and Anna going for an afternoon of lunch and shopping, stumbling on the books and purchasing them for Justin to be ‘helpful.’ Or really, to annoy Brian since he’d defintiely told his mother about Brian’s reaction to the baby name book the other day; _and_ if, at the same time, it meant that Brian gave Justin a hard time afterdiscovering said books, all the better.

His mother’s actions often held layered intentions; he’d known she hadn’t quite forgiven him for mouthing off the other day no matter what Deb had told Brian.

Biting his lower lip, Justin smirked, a wicked gleam in his eye as he sent one last text to his husband, knowing he was just asking for trouble when Brian returned from his trip. But he also couldn’t help himself. A frustrated, horny Brian was a fun Brian and Justin couldn’t resist fanning the flames just a little.

_Justin: I’ll be ready and waiting, my dick hard and wet and my ass stretched and filled with your favorite dildo – you know the blue, nine-inch, vibrating, flexible one... God, I am hard and leaking just thinking about it now. Maybe I’ll get an early start…_

Justin snickered as the silence from the other side drew out. He bit his lower lip and palmed his cock; he wasn’t lying when he'd said he was instantly hard just from the thought of tonight’s phone sex session. He might just have to take care of this in truth, otherwise he’d never get anything done and he really needed to finish these last two pieces for the show.

Sighing, he was just about to set the phone aside, thinking that Brian must have turned his off before Justin's message could go through. Too bad; it would have been funny to imagine him sitting through the rest of the meeting, his legs strategically crossed to hide his growing erection. But then the phone buzzed in his hand and Justin unlocked it, his breath catching and dick hardening further as he read his husband’s answer.

_Brian: Fucking tease. You are so paying for this, Sunshine. Your ass is mine, little boy. I expect you to be in bed, lubed up, ready and waiting for me because I am going to fuck you into the fucking mattress when I get home on Friday._

Licking his lips, Justin stiffly stood and hurried to his bedroom for a nice, long, hot shower; he definitely needed to take care of his not-so-little problem if he had any hope of finishing what he needed to today.


	23. January 23

**January 23**

Blake paced his living room, tiredly humming a bunch of notes that barely resembled a lullaby at this point, but sounded soothing enough to his own ears; and therefore, hopefully, was soothing to his son’s as well. They had just finished Luc’s mid-morning feeding and he was now in the process of rocking and singing him back to sleep in the hope that he too could get a little rest.

Pressing his mouth into his opposite shoulder, Blake yawned and fought back another wave of fatigue as Luc made a few little snuffling noises and then whimpered a bit. _Oh, for God's sake, no; please no more crying baby. Daddy really needs some sleep._ Blake resumed his absentminded, off-key humming and nearly sighed with relief when Luc settled back down to making little, sucking noises with his mouth.

Running a hand through his hair, he cast a longing look at his favorite deep, over-stuffed chair, but dared not sit down for two reasons. One, Luc would likely wake up and start crying yet again; and two, he’d likely fall asleep as soon as he did sit down. It was days like this that he was glad that he hadn't had any clue as to just how much work and attention a baby needed, as it was very likely that he would have said screw the whole thing.

Closing his eyes, he walked a now familiar circuit down to one end of the living room, around the chair, skirting the sofa that jutted out just a bit, and down to the other end of the living room and back around the sofa and another chair, to begin it all _again._ He was pretty sure he could do the circuit in his sleep by now.

A few dozen circuits later, Blake forced back another yawn and opened his eyes. He looked down at Luc and sighed with relief to see him sucking on his fist and soundly asleep. Walking over to the blue, white and green sleeper, Blake gently laid Luc down into it and held his breath for several seconds to see if he’d remain asleep. And when the all too familiar unhappy screeches from the night before didn’t pierce the air, he sighed in relief. As much as he loved his son, he was just as thankful for the peace.

Scrubbing his hand over his face, Blake glanced at the couch, briefly considering a quick lie down, but then looked at his watch and realized that he might as well wait. Ted would be up in an hour and then he’d have his nice, warm, snug bed all to himself. And that was far more appealing than their comfortable, but slightly too short sofa.

Instead, he began straightening out the living room, throwing used burping clothes and clothing into a laundry basket, taking empty bottles to the sink, and picking up random baby items like diaper wipes and diapers, powder, formula canisters, and other items. It often amazed him how quickly his typically neat house could resemble a disaster area in ab hour.

Adding the last few things to another basket, Blake stooped and picked it up and then carried it over and set it down on a table by the hallway.he could take that back when he went for his nap. He yawned for a third time and stretched and was once again considering that nap, when there was a light tapping on his front door. Frowning, Blake walked towards the door wondering who it could be as neither he nor Ted were expecting any visitors; and they were remote enough that door-to-door salesmen weren’t typically a problem.

Opening the door, Blake was surprised to see Justin standing there, as he knew from their conversation yesterday that the blond had no intentions of leaving Britin today. Something about needing to work on the last two pieces for his February show. He opened his mouth to greet his friend, but quickly closed it when Justin just flounced inside with a pout and flung himself on the couch.

“I can’t fit into my pants,” he groused before slamming a cushion over his head.

“Hello to you too,” Blake said, fighting back a smile as he glanced over at Luc and was happy to note he was still sleeping.

“Can’t you see I’m having a crisis here?” Justin huffed, raising the cushion long enough to glare at Blake before slapping it back on his face.

“It was a bit difficult not to notice; what with you storming in here in a high dudgeon and throwing yourself onto my couch like the world was coming to an end,” Blake noted wryly, sitting down in his favorite chair right next to Luc, who just snuffled and slept on, oblivious to their visitor. “Thankfully it didn’t wake Luc up or I would have killed you and happily dealt with Brian’s wrath afterwards.”

“Sorry, hello,” Justin winced, and then cast a sheepish smile his and Luc’s way. “How are you and Luc today?

“Tired.” Blake dug his fingers into his eyes, trying to ease the ache behind them. “Luc had a rough night; and even with us sleeping in shifts, neither of us got much sleep. I can’t wait until Ted is up in an hour, so I can get a few more hours of sleep.”

“Do you want me to take over so you can go now?” Justin asked, sitting up with a concerned frown.

“Nah,” Blake said, fighting back another yawn and dismissing Justin’s concern with a wave of his hand. In all reality, it sounded marvelous, but he hadn’t seen his friend in days and it was nice to talk face to face with someone other than Ted. “I’ll be fine for another hour or so.” He cast a sly smirk in Justin’s direction. “Besides you mentioned a crisis and I can’t abandon you in your time of need.”

“Yeah, make fun of me now,” Justin groused, the scowl returning to his face as he flopped back down into the cushions. “But I seem to remember you coming over and crying on my shoulder when you couldn’t wear your favorite shirt any longer.”

“Fucking hormones,” Blake agreed, fist bumping Justin as he stuck his fist out.

He cringed internally as he remembered running to Justin and sobbing his heart out because none of his clothing fit anymore. It had been made all the worse by some bitchy queen telling him that he was looking a little pudgy, as if the bitch hadn’t been well aware that Blake was pregnant. Luckily, she learned very quickly not to fuck with him again. Although, he felt kind of bad that Justin had accidentally gotten caught in the backlash and didn’t realize it to this day. 

“I’m really not going to miss that part,” Blake muttered, hoping Justin never found out about his part in them getting arrested. “So, this crisis…”

“I can’t fit into my pants,” Justin whined, and then screwed up his face in disgust; Blake had to agree as that was a very Michael-like whine. Shaking his head he continued in aggrieved tone of voice. “It’s like I’ve suddenly grown overnight, and even my loosest pants don’t fit anymore.”

“That’s what you get for liking pants that plaster to your ass like a second skin,” Blake snorted, getting up and walking over to the kitchen to get them some water.

“Oh, but the results they give me,” Justin leered, snickering when Blake just rolled his eyes. He was all too aware of those results sadly, having walked in on them on more than one occasion. Shy Brian and Justin were not. “And not just because Brian loves them; but if someone so much as breathes on me while I'm wearing some of those pants, Brian’s primal side goes berserk and it leads to many a satisfying night.”

“You’re terrible,” Blake mock lamented, shaking his head at his friend as he pulled out two bottles of water. He walked over and handed one to Justin and then sat back down.

“Yes I am,” Justin said a touch smugly, and then deflated and sighed. “At least they did; not so much anymore if I can’t even zip the damned things up.”

“You knew that was going to happen, so I’m not sure why you’re surprised,” Blake pointed out, his head cocked as he studied the other man. His inner counselor kicked in, sensing there was more to it than Justin was saying. “So, what’s the real problem?”

“I _hate_ shopping,” Justin spat vehemently, drawing an amused chuckle from Blake. “I just know that Brian is going to gleefully drag me from store to fucking store; and it’s going to be an all day process that’s going to leave me tired and cranky and wanting to kill him by the end of it. He’s been dying to go shopping for weeks.”

Blake snickered again; _that_ made much more sense. He was quite aware that Justin hated clothing shopping with a passion and would happily wear his clothes down to rags if he could get away with it; much to Brian’s absolute horror. He had always been most comfortable in a pair of cargos and a knit shirt or sweater, and no amount of living with Brian ‘Fashion Queen’ Kinney had changed that.

“Ah, the true crisis comes out,” Blake nodded knowingly, smirking when Justin just flipped him off in response. He shook his head; he couldn’t believe his normally bright and resourceful friend hadn’t hit on the obvious solution yet. “So; go shopping before he comes home. He’s not back until tomorrow night, right? Aren’t you going to lunch with Daphne tomorrow? Make it a lunch with a shopping trip.”

“Brilliant!” Justin sat up looking far more chipper. “You are a brilliant, brilliant man; and I would kiss you if I didn’t think Ted might just end me. I knew coming to you was the right idea. Although, I thought it would more about us bitching about pregnancy and our changing bodies. But this could work.”

“Well, we can bitch about that too,” Blake conceded; and he was more than willing to do that as he was still dealing with baby tummy issues and he was not happy. “But first, I have a gift for you.” Blake got up and walked over to the hall closet, pulled out a bag and handed it to Justin. “Sorry, I didn’t wrap it; but that would have meant that I actually had the time to do anything other than eat, sleep, bathe and live for Luc.”

Justin just waved him off as he dug into the bag like a kid at Christmas.

“Ted saw those when he went shopping for formula and diapers one day,” Blake continued, nodding toward the bag. “He sent me a picture and I made him buy them.”

“I thought you had a diapering service?” Justin asked, his brow furrowed with confusion as he stopped going through the bag and looked up.

“We do, but we forgot to tell them that Peanut was born so that it would start up,” Blake said with a sheepish smile. “It was a communication failure; I thought Ted had called them and he thought I’d called them. So, we had to get some disposable diapers to get us through as I didn’t want to attempt washing the ones from the service and screw something up.”

“Ah,” Justin said, returning his attention to the bag. “We’re probably going to do the same thing. I really liked what I read about Green Cheeks and it will be one less thing for me and Brian to worry about.”

Justin pulled out the first outfit, making happy noises over the pair of [black, fitted maternity cargo pants](https://imgur.com/F4VB3kJ); just as Blake suspected he would. And the he laughed as he looked at the shirt that had been paired with them.

“Really?” he asked as he held up the short-sleeved, black knit shirt that had a thought bubble silk-screened on it with the words [Feed Me](https://imgur.com/pPrh5mV) leading away from where his baby bump would eventually be.

“Are you trying to tell me that’s not an accurate depiction lately?” Blake asked, snickering when Justin rolled his eyes and refused to answer.

Instead, he pulled out a second set of clothing, this time a pair of [maternity jeans](https://imgur.com/snnk3qy), paired with a blue shirt with the words [Due in June](https://imgur.com/h5SWzsh) printed on it in black.

“That should cover you until you can go shopping and wash your new clothing,” Blake said with a tired smile, happy that Justin seemed to love the gift.

“These are great,” Justin said with his wide Sunshine grin. “Where did you find them?”

“The Big Q,” Blake said with a laugh, knowing full well what Brian thought of the store. But what he didn’t know, wouldn’t hurt him.

“Oh, Brian’s going to hate that,” Justin laughed, and then stood, walked over and enveloped Blake in tight hug. “But I love them. I will definitely have to go there and take a look around. I refuse to spend hundreds of dollars on clothes that I'll only be wearing for four months.”

“Just do me a favor,” Blake smirked as Justin went to sit back down. “Don’t mention where you got the idea from when he finds out. Because you _know_ that he _will_ the minute he comes back and sees them. I’d like to live to see Peanut’s first birthday.”


	24. January 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just noticed that link for the Due in June shirt was actually showing the maternity jeans again. Usually I double check my links after posting, but I got distracted last night and only checked the first two. It has since been fixed; sorry for the mix up. Also, I will be posting a Bonus vignette later tonight or tomorrow as well.

**January 24**

"Where's Brian?"

Justin sighed, closed his eyes and counted to ten as that familiar, grating whine washed over him. Taking a deep breath, he clenched his fists and counted to ten again; trying to settle his growing ire, but it still did nothing to ease his temper. He'd found that his normal patience for Michael's single-minded focus was dwindling day by day.

How the fuck had he managed to survive without a leash for this long?

He fervently prayed that Daphne got back from the bathroom soon; otherwise, she would be helping him scrape what was left of Michael up off the ground and helping him hide the body. He was fairly certain no one outside of Debbie would miss him much.

Setting the shirt he'd been looking at down he spun around, a thin smile on his face as he addressed the thirteen-year thorn in his side. "Well, hello, Michael; how are you doing today," he started off conversationally, although had Daphne been there, she would have instantly recognized it as his _'I am this close to eviscerating you'_ tone. "Me, I'm well, thank you for asking; the morning sickness seems to have abated and I have my appetite back, and I even felt Sunbeam move the other day, which was exciting."

"Real funny, Boy Wonder," Michael huffed and rolled his eyes.

It was all Justin could do _not_ smack the vacant expression from his face. He'd been tempted many a time to do so; and, really, it would've been fully justifiable and years in the making if he'd finally given into the urge, but he chose not to. Because he knew if he did, Michael would end up whining even more than usual; and then Brian would get dragged into the fray because Michael can't solve his own fucking problems. This meant that Brian would end up annoyed with Justin, and could lead to all those lovely hours of delicious reunion sex being put on hold because Brian was too busy dealing with a whiny, little weasel.

Thus not hitting him was purely selfish on Justin's part.

"Where's Brian?" said weasel demanded again, getting more and more impatient the longer Justin ignored him.

Part of Justin was tempted to see just how far he could wind Michael up before he simply imploded form a lack of information on his drug of choice. But the other part of Justin, the one that had far more sense on this occasion, whispered the words 'reunion sex' and firmly brought the rebellious part to heel.

"Why do you need to know?" Justin asked, a placid smile on his face.

Okay, so maybe it hadn't been fully brought to heel, but it did try.

"I've been calling him for the past two days," Michael whined, droning on and on about all the perceived slights against him; and seriously, how did this man survive without a keeper? Where the fuck was Ben when you needed him? "He hasn't answered a single one of my calls. I've tried him at home, on his cell, at Kinnetik, but that bitch he employs always tells me that he's not available and that he'll get back to me when he has the time no matter what he's doing."

Justin snorted, thankfully bringing the diatribe to an immediate halt and Michael crossed his arms over his chest and pouted like the man-child that he was.

"He _is_ busy most of the time, Michael," Justin sighed, knowing that his words would fall on deaf ears, but feeling the need to defend his husband nonetheless. For some reason, Michael still had no idea just how hard Brian had always worked to get to where he was now. "The business doesn't run itself."

"He couldn't possibly need to be working that hard," Michael grumbled, making Justin bristle, because who the fuck was he to question Brian's work ethic?

_And you'd know this how? Because you own a dinky, little comic store that no one cares about and has definitely seen better days? Yes, apt comparison there._

"Besides he's not even in the state at the moment," Justin continued through grit teeth, blatantly ignoring the weasel's resumed pouting. "He's in Chicago. One of the breweries up there wanted a revamp and a national roll out, so he's there making a presentation. And then he's meeting up with a couple of our larger accounts since he's in the area and they asked to see him. He's in meetings pretty much back to back. He wouldn't have time to call you."

"What?" Michael squawked, drawing the attention of several customers nearby. "Why wasn't I informed of this?"

"Why would you be?" Justin asked, not seeing why it was any of the weasel's business in the first place; you'd think that Brian had married him, not Justin with the way he acted at times.

"Because I'm his…" Michael said, beginning a familiar phrase that had Justin wanting to bang his head against the nearest dense object. Sadly, that was Michael's head; and as appealing as the thought was, Justin knew that if he even tried, he'd just cause himself more brain damage rather than knocking some well-needed sense into the older man.

"Best friend," Justin finished tired, mentally rolling his own eyes. "Yes, we are all quite aware of the fact since you remind everyone as often as you can. But that is the point; you're his friend, not his husband. He doesn't report to you."

"Oh, and he reports to you?" Michael asked in a belligerent tone.

"Uh, yes," Justin said slowly, speaking as if he would to a small, particularly dense child; which actually described Michael's mentality to a T. "You know, it's all part of being his husband; also known as the one he fucks on a routine basis. Not to mention that I'm also part owner of Kinnetik and would need to be kept apprised of his comings and goings so that I can be in the office if needed."

"I wouldn't count on that lasting," Michael muttered, a snide smile on his face; and truly, Michael could be an ugly human being. How others didn't see it, he didn't know.

"What lasting?" Justin asked, already having a feeling he knew the direction this was going; because no one could beat a dead horse like Michael.

"Him fucking you," Michael sneered, an ugly smile on his face.

"Oh and why is that?" Justin couldn't help asking, amused that the idiot was really going to go here again. Seriously, he needed a new shtick because this one was decidedly old.

"Well, you're going to be getting bigger and bigger as time goes on," Michael sneered, raking a disgusted look over Justin's expanding belly. "And you know that Brian can't stand when someone lets themselves go. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if this trip was just an excuse for him to go out and stick his dick in as many tricks as possible since he can't be satisfied with what he's getting at home…"

"He's pregnant, not letting himself go, moron," Daphne said as she walked out of the racks behind Michael, startling him. "There _is_ a vast difference, as you well know."

Michael looked around wildly, an 'oh shit' expression on his face; guess the weasel hadn't realized that Justin had company. Justin grinned at his best friend and then just settled in to watch the show. Daphne had been dying to put Michael in his place for years and only held back because Michael wisely steered clear of her.

"Do I detect a note of jealousy, Mikey?" Daphne asked, her voice syrupy sweet as she walked over to where Michael was standing.

Michael's eyes widened until the whites could be seen and swallowed harshly, his Adam's apple bobbing in his throat. Daphne, shark that she was, scented blood in the water and closed in on him, her smile diamond sharp as she continued.

"You know, even if Brian wasn't satisfied with his sex life; which, trust me, he is given the stories I've heard. He still wouldn't be into you. And that's the real problem, isn't it?"

"Jealous? Jealous of what?" Michael spluttered, his face turning an unhealthy shade of mottled puce.

Daphne circled him like one of those piranhas you see in cartoons, taunting the prey and taking little nibbles out of the flesh before they devoured them whole. But in this instance, Daphne was whittling away at Michael's massive ego; a very happy and much needed happenstance in Justin's opinion.

"Jealous that Justin is everything thing you're not – beautiful inside and out, intelligent, creative, strong, resourceful, passionate, and brave – and he, at the mere age of seventeen, was far more of man than you could ever hope to be. He is the perfect foil to Brian; his strengths bolster Brian's weaknesses and vice versa."

"Please, Brian could do so much better…" Michael snorted, casting a vicious glare Justin's way.

Justin just blew him a kiss much to his annoyance and sniggered as he noticed someone recording the smack down onto their phone. Come to think of it, the kid looked familiar and Justin was pretty sure he'd seen him down on Liberty Avenue a time or two. Michael was about to become infamous once again.

"You know, you've been saying the same thing for thirteen years," Daphne snorted, casting a disdainful look Michael's way. "And it still hasn't changed anyone's perceptions. All it's done is made you sound like a broken record and it's gotten to the point that we've all learned to tune you out for our own sanity."

"You can say what you want, but eventually Brian will get tired of playing daddy, and then where will Justin be?" Michael said, trying a new tack when he realized that the other wasn't working.

"Like he did with Gus?" Daphne asked, a smirk firmly planted on her face. "I think you said the same thing then too. But let's cut the crap. We all know that's not what this is about. This goes back to a little, well-known fantasy you have that Brian will suddenly wake up and see that you've been the one all these years."

Michael flushed an even deeper red and scowled at Daphne, but didn't say a word more, as he was aware there was nothing he could say to combat her words. He was woefully unequipped when it came to taking on this FLOTUS in training, if she didn't become the actual President herself.

"I would say that I hate to inform you of this," Daphne continued with a saccharine smile. "But let's get real – I am _so_ going to enjoy setting you straight. Newsflash Mikey – if he hasn't sucked your dick in the twenty-eight years that he's known you, he isn't going to. He's not interested and never really was. You keep holding onto an uncompleted hand job when he was a teenager and really just interested in someone else's hand on his dick; it had nothing to do with you and really it wouldn't have mattered who was in the bed with him that day so long as he got off. It's called experimenting."

"I can't believe you told her that," Michael spluttered, face paling to a ghostly white. And actually, Justin hadn't said a thing, but it wasn't like it was a secret. Everyone had heard about the infamous hand job that wasn't by now. "I am not holding onto…"

"Bitch please, sell it to someone who's buying," Daphne snapped getting tired of Michael's continuing denial. "Do you want to know the reason it wasn't, and _never will be_ , you? It's because you need someone to take care of you, whereas Justin can take care of his own damned self. Poor little Mikey needs someone to hold his hand through his life and make all his decisions for him. Doesn't have a mind of his own; always conforming to what his partners think is best. Brian would die of boredom if he were ever to attempt a relationship with you because there is nothing there to challenge him. He needs a spitfire, not a drone."

"You better watch what you're saying…" Michael hissed, taking a step towards Daphne as if he expected it would make her cower. Justin just shook his head; Michael picked the wrong woman to mess with.

"And just what are you going to do about it, huh?" Daphne asked, getting right up into his face this time. "Run to mommy and complain that the mean girl is picking on you? Complain to Brian that Justin's little fag hag needs to be reminded of her place?" Michael flushed and didn't deny a thing. "Just as I thought; and then you wonder why it isn't you. You are nothing but a spineless, petty, jealous, sorry excuse for a man who hides behind his mommy and has yet to realize that he wore out his welcome a long ass time ago. Now go away little boy and leave the adults to shop."

Michael puffed himself up as if he were going to say something, but then, seeing the gleefully malevolent gleam in Daphne's eye, he spun on his heel and stormed off, his cheeks reddening further as people began to applaud. Barely holding back his own laughter, Justin turned to his friend and arched a brow.

"You are evil," He said mildly; he couldn't even be upset that this was going to cause him a headache at a much later date as it was the best entertainment he'd had in days. He walked over and kissed her on the cheek. "I'm so glad that you're my evil minion."

"Bitch please," Daphne snorted, linking her arm with his as she dragged him off to yet another store. "I am the Queen of my own domain. I am no one's minion."


	25. BONUS! (January 24)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two for one today!

**BONUS – My Husband's Back and There's Gonna Be Trouble**

Brian quietly stalked down the hall, intent on one thing, and one thing only – finding the teasing, little twat that he called his husband.

When Brian had gotten off the phone with him after their little texting adventure, he had been hard as a rock, and had been forced to adjust his clothing so that his bulge wasn't quite so prominent. A task he failed at judging by poor Adelbert's dazed expression as he stared intently at Brian's crotch for the rest of the meeting. He thought he'd even saw the other man swipe away a dab of drool at one point as well, but Brian had been too intent on getting the contracts signed and getting the fuck out of the conference room to deal with his not-so-little problem.

Thankfully, the meeting wrapped up about thirty minutes later, and that Aldelbert had been far too bashful to make an unwise move on Brian; he would have hated having to crush the poor man's fantasies when he was already at a distinct disadvantage with that God awful name. Seriously, who the fuck does that to their kid? And he'd thought that Abraham was bad.

Popping his head into Sunbeam's room, Brian smiled to see that Justin had started putting in few of the baby animals and their 'homes,' and then frowned, wondering if his favorite twat had been overworking himself again. He was pretty sure that Justin was sneaking in extra hours somehow, but hadn't been able to catch him at it yet.

He looked around, listening for the familiar splash of water that would tell him that Justin was in the bathroom cleaning up, but found nothing but silence. Pulling his head out, Brian continued down the hall towards the only other place he could be since he'd checked the kitchen first thing when he came in – the studio.

Perfect; he'd been meaning to christen the studio once more anyways.

After he'd gotten out of his meeting, Brian had stalked down to his waiting car and taken himself off to his hotel room to prepare for dinner with Jason, the CEO of Hell's Half Acre Beer Company, his wife Caitlyn, and their partner, and apparently lover, Daniel. Yeah, that last bit had been a surprise to him as well; but each to their own. It's not like he was in any place to judge anyone's relationship when he and Justin's had remained open for eight years.

He'd had himself a nice, long, leisurely toss off in the shower before getting dressed and heading out for a long night with Jason and consorts, as he called them; they'd started with dinner at Next, then had after dinner drinks at The Aviary next door, and ended the night with dancing at The Mid. Although, he'd skipped out of the latter as soon as it was polite; dancing just wasn't much fun unless Justin was there.

But by the time he'd gotten back to the hotel and called Justin, they were both too tired to prolong their phone sex session; Justin more so than him. He'd then spent the next day trying to make nice with Leo Brown, especially as Drew was stepping down as Brown Athletics' spokesperson recently. That had been a headache and a half to deal with; and, again, didn't lend him much free time to call Justin for a bit of fun.

Luckily, the rep from Avalon Industries had cancelled at the last minute and Brian had been able to switch his flight to an earlier time. A fact that he'd neglected to tell Justin when they talked this morning, only long enough for Brian to figure out where he'd be that day.

Halting at the studio's doorway, Brian licked his lips at the vision before him; his eyes lustfully sliding over his husband's lithe form, and his dick instantly hardening as they rested on the firm, rounded bubble-butt that had attracted him so many years ago. Standing in front of his latest creation, Justin was clad in one of Brian's old, white wife-beaters that clung to him in all the right places and a pair of thin, navy-blue track pants that left very little to the imagination.

In his ears, were a set of ear buds, both blocking out the environment around him, while also providing musical inspiration; a bonus for Brian as Justin still hadn't become aware that he was no longer alone in the house. Just as he'd intended all along; Justin couldn't have played better into his hands than if they'd planned this scenario

A slow, carnal smile slid over his face as he watched his husband's hips dip and sway to music only he could hear; the seductive movements further inflaming Brian's need to possess the blond fully. Stalking across the floor, Brian plastered himself along Justin's back, enjoying the slight hitch in his breathing as Brian cinched an arm around his waist and hauled him back into his body. Popping one of the ear buds out, Brian pressed his lips to the hollow behind Justin's ear.

"Well, well, well, what have we here?" Brian murmured, further molding his husband's body to his, chest to back and the curve of Justin's ass snugly fitted against his crotch. He ground his dick against it, his blood heating further as a small, helpless moan spilled over Justin's lips. "All alone, little boy?"

"I'll have you know," Justin said, his breath catching again as Brian slid his hands over Justin's waist and firmly gripped his hips. "That my husband could be home at any time, mister; and then you'll really be in trouble."

"Ah, but he's not here now, is he?" Brian smirked, teasing his fingers along the edge of Justin's track pants, making Justin squirm oh-so-deliciously against him. His smile deepened and his body quickened as the faint strains of Closer by NIN played over the ear bud resting against Justin's shoulder. "And that's all that matters for now; I'll worry about him later, after I've thoroughly tasted you."

Justin shuddered, his eyes falling half-mast, and Brian could feel his heart fluttering as he pressed his lips to the thrumming pulse in his neck. He sucked the smooth, slightly salty skin into his mouth and bit down, drawing a hiss from the boy in his hands and bruising the tender skin above his pulse. Licking the bite to soothe the sting, Brian rocked his hips, enticing Justin to dance with him, and groaned when the little twat rolled his hips, grinding his ass back into his dick.

Brian slid his hands over Justin's body, touching anywhere and everywhere he could reach, as their bodies rocked and rolled together, the scent of clean sweat and the musk of Justin's arousal growing with every touch. His lips traced a hot path up from Justin's pulse, biting, licking and making a meal out of the soft skin. His hands slid over Justin's chest, his fingers tweaking Justin's nipples as his teeth sank into his ear lobe, and he whispered along with the song, "I want to fuck you like an animal."

Justin gasped, his body jolting at the dual sensations, and then drew taut as a wire as those whispered words penetrated through the fog that had enveloped him. Brian chuckled and slid his hands over Justin's chest and down to the waistband of his pants. He dipped his fingers just under the band and teased the fine hairs there, sucking in a sharp breath as he realized that the twat wasn't wearing anything underneath. He dipped his hand down further, intent on his prize, but never reached it as Justin squirmed out of his arms and pulled away.

"And who says I'll let you have your way with me?" he taunted, stepping a few feet out of the way, his eyes bright and cheeks flushed with lust. Justin licked his lips, his eyes trailing hotly over Brian's body, but he remained aloof, almost daring Brian to pursue him.

And pursue him Brian did; there was no way his prey was going to get away from him now.

"Do you honestly think you can stop me, little boy?" Brian asked in a low, rough voice and stalked after the boy, both delighted as the blond took a few stumbling steps backward, still trying to keep a small distance between them, and feeling somewhat outraged that he was being denied his due.

"Perhaps not," Justin sniffed haughtily, his arms crossing over his chest as he took another few steps away. "But if you're lucky, you might be able to entice m into giving in. It has been a while since my husband has fucked me."

"I'm not in the mood for talking you around to my view," Brian growled as he continued to stalk his prey, a triumphant smile flashing across his face as the boy backed himself up into a wall.

Justin cursed and looked around; and then, realizing he was caught, switched tactics. reverting to the teasingly little twat that Brian knew well, Justin leaned back against the flat surface and ran his tongue slowly over his lips, teasing Brian as he watched him approach through half-mast eyes.

"Then maybe you should just come and take what you want," he stated boldly, running his hands slowly over his body, pulling the material of his shirt and pants taut, and fully displaying his obvious arousal for all to see, further inflaming Brian's desire to possess him.

"Fucking tease," Brian hissed, swiftly eating the remaining distance between them; he wrapped an arm around Justin's waist and yanked him bodily against him. "You'll pay for your cheekiness, brat."

Palming his boy's ass, Brian lifted him off his feet, gratified when Justin immediately wrapped his legs around his waist, and walked over to the floor cushion he'd dragged in here after their last foray into floor sex. Tumbling them both down onto the pillow, Brian captured Justin's mouth, his tongue sweeping out and in to take immediate possession of it when Justin parted his lips.

The kiss wasn't sweet or soft, and it definitely wasn't one of homecoming, but instead, it was a struggle for dominance, hard and deep and hot, as they tangled their tongues together, stroking and teasing, each hoping to exert their control over the other.

A struggle that Brian had every intention of winning.

Sinking his hand into Justin's hair, he tightened his grip and twisted his head firmly to the right and back, as he deepened the kiss, a dark, possessive part of him all but gloating when Justin finally gave up the fight and began to respond instead. Brian grasped Justin's chin and held him in place as he feasted on his lips and tongue, gentling the kiss a degree, but displaying no less passion as he licked and nipped and teased him until Justin was squirming and straining beneath him.

Pulling away from Justin's mouth, Brian slid hot, wet kisses down his neck, his hands sliding over his clothed chest and finding the small rent he'd earlier in the material. Pushing two fingers into it, he first widened the tear and then, getting a good grip on the material, ripped in two from bottom to neck, exposing Justin's chest to his eyes.

Justin yelped, and then moaned as Brian attacked his chest, sliding hot, biting kisses over his collarbone, and down to his nipples, where he spent several minutes licking and sucking and driving Justin mad with desire. Justin keened as released his nipple with a pop and worked his way down over his ribs and stomach, down to his navel. He dipped his tongue into it, teasing the small indentation as his hands slid down over Justin's chest and ribs to rest on the waistband of his track pants.

Sitting up, Brian curled his fingers into waistband and tugged, yanking them down Justin's legs and off his body, tossing them carelessly over his shoulder. And then Brian paused and just sat there and stared for a moment, his eyes taking in the boy's beauty, in absolute awe that he belonged only to him. And then his hands were on all that smooth, alabaster skin again, touching him anywhere and everywhere while the blond writhed beneath him.

Sliding his hands up over Justin's legs, Brian teased his fingers along sensitive the inner thighs, and then the creases at the apex of his thighs, deliberately foregoing the one place Justin really wanted him to touch. He trailed them up Justin's chest, his mouth following in their wake until he was hovering over Justin's mouth once more.

"Beautiful," he murmured, capturing his husband's mouth once more, dipping his tongue past his lips to tease the tongue curled inside. They kissed for several minutes, their touches and kisses deep and languid and so sweet that Brian felt he was going to drown in the honey of Justin's mouth.

But the sweetness was short lived as once again Justin began to squirm beneath him, reigniting the embers in his gut. Sliding his hand down, he wrapped it around Justin's cock and gave it a slow, deliberate tug, making him gasp against his mouth. Circling his thumb around the head of his dick, Brian gathered up some pre-com and slid his hand back down the shaft. He set a deliberately slow pace, his fingers grazing lightly over the sensitive skin and then curling around it for a few firm strokes, only to go right back to teasing along the shaft until Justin growled low his throat. Tired of the teasing, Justin curled one hand into Brian's hair and forcefully tugged.

"Fuck me!" The little imp demanded against his lips, tugging his hair again for good measure and awakening his primitive side once more.

"As you wish," Brian smirked, abandoning Justin's mouth in favor of a much more delicious treat.

He slid down Justin's body and, shoving his legs apart, licked a long, wet strip up his cock, savoring the taste and texture of his skin. Justin keened and arched his back, his hands clenched into other side of the pillow. Chuckling Brian sucked on the head of Justin's cock, purposely teasing the underside of it with the tip of his tongue as he palmed and rolled Justin's balls in his hand.

Wetting his lips, Brian sucked the tip of Justin's dick into his mouth and then worked his way down slowly, bobbing his head down and then sucking back up until he'd taken Justin fully into his mouth. Justin wrapped his fingers into Brian's hair as he bobbed, licking and sucking and teasing until Justin was near to coming; and then pulled off, drawing a string of expletives from his husband's mouth.

Brian chuckled at his boy's frustration and quickly searched for the lube that always kept nearby. Grabbing it, he opened it and spread a little on his fingers before placing it in his back pocket. Sliding his fingers down over Justin's balls, he reached behind them and pressed against his perineum, relishing the way Justin's hips bucked into his hand.

"I do hope you're ready for me, little boy," Brian said, teasing the sensitive skin behind the boy's balls; he watched the boy that would soon belong to him with hot eyes, relishing the way he writhed and arched his body, trying to get Brian to slide his hand lower. "Because I am in no mood to be patient."

"Like I'd expect that of someone of your sensibilities," Justin spat, pushing at Brian ineffectually, still trying to get him to do what he wanted. "Besides, I thought I told you to fuck me! So far, I'm not seeing anything worth my...ahhh!"

Justin keened as Brian's hand slid over his perineum and down to the furled hole, and Brian was instantly gratified to find the butt plug inserted there. Grabbing the base, he twisted it and then pulled it out part way before shoving it back in sharply. Justin's body jolted and he cried out as Brian fucked him with the toy for several seconds before pulling it out and replacing them with two lubed fingers.

"Such a mouthy little twat," Brian murmured, pressing hard kiss against Justin's swollen and kiss-bruised mouth. "Someone really needs to to teach you not to taunt the person who has you at their mercy."

Brian chuckled at Justin's annoyed squawk, but cut off his reply by pulling out his fingers and thrusting them back in, pressing against his prostate as he did so; Justin gasped and wriggled as Brian quickly worked him open, stretching and scissoring his fingers until he could insert a third one. Sliding it in, Brian steadily worked Justin up, thrusting his fingers into the hot, tight channel, and rubbing up against his prostate on every couple of passes, until Justin was babbling and nearly begging for his cock.

But Brian also held back, giving him enough to drive Justin mad with desire, and have him writhing beneath him, but not enough to having him coming; he wanted to be inside his boy when that happened.

When Justin was able to take the third finger easily, Brian pulled them out, smirking when Justin whimpered at their loss. He sat up and didn't even bother to undress; he needed his boy too badly. He just slid his jeans down low enough to get his cock out, quickly lubed it up and slid into that hot, tight ass that he'd been craving for days.

Groaning, Brian pressed his head to Justin's stomach, his body feverish as Justin tightened around his dick. Biting his lip, he rubbed his boy's stomach and waited until he relaxed before sliding up his body. He grabbed Justin's hands and pinned them to the pillow above his head, and, with his legs wrapped around his waist, he began to fuck him with long, slow, hard thrusts.

Justin cried out, and arched up into each thrust, making delicious little sounds in the back of his throat meant to entice Brian to speed up; which he did, thrusting firmly, but still languidly into the only ass he'd wanted to fuck for the rest of his life. Justin moaned again, his head thrashing against the pillow as he continued to buck against him, shoving his ass into his dick in an attempt to quicken his pace. But Brian just pinned him down further and kept up his long, deep thrusts, pulling almost all the way out before slamming back in, until his boy was nearly screaming in frustration.

Brian held the pace, dragging his dick over the Justin's prostrate every few thrusts until he'd had finally had enough, and in an effort to 'get the fuck on with it' as he'd demanded more than once, he contracted his muscles, squeezing tightly around Brian's dick. Gasping, Brian arched his back and tightened his hold on Justin's wrists, muttering a string of expletives much to his captive's amusement.

Growling under his breath, Brian thrust harder, his thrusts growing shorter and faster, their skin slapping together as he pounded into his boy for all he was worth. Justin keened and met him, arching his body up into each of Brian's thrusts, grinding his ass upwards as he tried to draw Brian as deep as possible. Crying out, Brian sped up once more until they were a frenzy of need and want and desire and he had no idea where he began and Justin ended and he was completely lost in it.

Thrusting one last time, Brian felt, more than heard, Justin come, his body convulsing beneath him and his muscles clamping down, drawing his own orgasm from him. Throwing his head back, he thrust a few more times as the world whited-out and he came with an intensity that had him breathless and his eyesight graying around the edges.

Slumping, Brian panted and gathered Justin to him as rolled to the side, taking him with him, their bodies still merged as he wasn't quite down with his twat. Humming with contentment, he floated, basking in the aftermath as he ran his hands soothingly over Justin's back and arm and neck. He pressed soft kisses along Justin's neck, chuckling a bit when his husband shivered and squirmed away, still too sensitive for too much touch.

They laid there, just like that for several minutes, until finally Justin stirred and lifted his head to press a gentle kiss on Brian's mouth. They kissed languidly, the neither of them needing, or even wanting, to move any time soon. They were just content to bask in each other's presence and enjoy feeling the other pressed against them after the three-day separation.

"You're home early," Justin murmured, finally having gotten his breath back to voice the question that had likely been plaguing him since Brian's arrival.

"Avalon cancelled last minute," Brian murmured, still a bit annoyed that the rep waited until the last minute to tell him, but mostly just glad that it meant that he could come home earlier than he expected. "So I decided to come home and teach my husband that it doesn't pay to be a teasing, little twat."

"You failed miserably," Justin informed him with an indelicate snort.

"Well, there's always next time," Brian said agreeably, not really caring who won this round. There was still plenty of time left in the day to make the twat pay for his actions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those who live in Chicago or beer lovers - yes, I am well aware that the brewery in Chicago is actually called Half Acre Brewery Company; but this is Queer as Folk land, where things don't quite match up to reality, like Liberty Avenue. I added the Hell in for this same reason.


	26. January 25

**January 25**

Justin sat up with a yawn, dragging his hand lazily through his hair as he curled up further in the corner of his favorite overstuffed chair, a sketchpad sitting in his lap, open, but unused. He had been trying to focus on an idea for his last pastel for the last hour, but his mind kept wandering to the night before.

Squirming in his seat, Justin rubbed his ass, which was still a bit tender from the spanking Brian had administered after their very spectacular reunion in his studio; trying to inflict upon him the importance of not giving him a hard-on during meetings. Which was just laughable at best, because Justin was well aware that Brian often got turned on just by doing the pitch itself, and Justin didn't have to add any fuel to the flames so to speak.

Personally, Justin just thought Brian was traumatized by knowing that he'd be prominently featuring in Dilbert's or Albert's or whatever the hell his name was, spank bank for a long time to come. Justin couldn't even blame the man for looking at and fantasizing about Brian, as his husband was gorgeous and had a glorious cock that he knew how to use well. Justin knew that he'd certainly never been able to resist Brian's pull, and he was notoriously stubborn, so why would he expect anyone else to?

Stretching, Justin forced his attention back to the paper in front of him, determined to get at least a basic outline done today, so that he could begin this last piece tomorrow. Biting his lower lip, he'd just set his pencil to paper when an outraged cry echoing out of their walk-in closet had him jumping in his seat.

Justin cast a perplexed look towards the closet, where Brian had been going through his clothing from the trip and getting it ready to either be taken to the dry cleaners or the laundry service. Chewing on bottom lip, he wondered what on Earth had made Brian react that way, and then cringed when he envisioned one of his prized Armani shirts or suits being damaged on the way home; that was all they needed.

But he didn't have to wonder for long, as the dulcet tones of his husband's voice filled the room again.

"Justin!" Brian bellowed, the irritation evident in this tone. Sighing, Justin got up out of his comfortable nook and walked over to the closet door bracing himself for…well, anything.

"You bellowed?" Justin asked lightly, leaning against the doorjamb.

"What is this?" Brian asked, a sneer on his face as he held up several familiar items of clothing. And they should be familiar since he'd just bought them yesterday.

"Maternity clothes…" Justin said slowly, wondering where Brian was going with this as he thought it was pretty obvious what they were. Between the stretch bands on the jeans and chinos, and the larger than normal shirts, they really couldn't be anything else. Justin arched a brow. "I told you I was going shopping with Daphne yesterday."

"These are…" Brian sneered at the items in his hands, holding them away from his body by the tips of his fingers as if he feared they'd contaminate him if he held them any closer. "I don't know what they are, but I wouldn't call them clothes. Where did you get them?"

"The Big Q," Justin said, not about to lie to his husband. He supposed he could, and life would be much simpler for him; but he'd never backed down on a fight with Brian before and he certainly wasn't going to start over something as stupid as clothing. "They were having this big seasonal sale because they were starting to get the new spring lines in."

"You went where?" Brian looked at him as if he'd grown another head; and then dropped the clothing into a heap on the floor and stepped away from them. Justin rolled his eyes at his melodramatics.

"The Big…" Justin trailed off and huffed, crossing his arms over his chest and shaking his head as Brian stared at the pants and shirt as if they were going to bite him. "Oh get over it, Brian. They are perfectly acceptable for what I need. I spend most of my time in my studio or at home. It's not like anyone is going to know the difference and I refuse to spend a hundred dollars on a pair of pants I'll only wear for the next four or so months."

Brian turned to him slowly and opened and closed his moth several times as he tried to find the words for, well, whatever it was he wanted to say and just seemed to be a complete loss. He closed his mouth for a final time and stared at Justin in disbelief for a long time; but Justin wasn't budging on this.

He spent most of his time in a studio getting paint and pastels and charcoal and all matter of artsy shit on his clothing; there was no way in hell he was going to spend hundreds of dollars on clothing that he'd only wear for four months and would just end up getting destroyed due to his work.

Unfortunately, his fashion queen husband didn't understand that clothing was just another tool for him. It was something he was required to wear so that he didn't get cold or offend anyone's delicate sensibilities with his nudity. In fact, the only time he dressed up was when they went out, he had to be at Kinnetik for some reason, or he had a show. The rest of the time, he was quite happy in his chinos and a knit shirt.

"No," Brian said, garnering Justin's attention, and exasperation, once more. "Just no; I cannot believe that you brought this fashion faux pas into my house. You and I need to go shopping. Now. I will not have my husband walking around in these rags."

"Fuck you, Brian," Justin hissed, glaring at his husband with a mutinous moue on his face. "Shopping with Daphne was bad enough; there is no way in hell I am going clothes shopping with you."

Brian just stared at him with incomprehension; like he couldn't believe that Justin was refusing to go shopping with him. But fuck that; Justin had had enough of that shit yesterday when Daphne dragged him to five fucking stores, looking for this shirt he just had to buy. And then another additional ten so he could help her find the perfect outfit for her date this coming Friday. He was so done with shopping for a while.

"You won't, will you?" Brian asked, arching a brow; Justin defiantly jutted his chin out. "Easily solved." Brian picked up his cell phone and pressed a few buttons, placed it to his ear and waited. Justin stared at him with a suspicious frown. "Hey, Sonny Boy, how would you and your sister like to go shopping with me today? I need to get a few things for myself and Justin." Brian paused and then smiled triumphantly at Justin. "Sure, we can stop by the art store, and the music store as well. Not a problem. We'll even pick up Auntie Em on the way, get some lunch and make a day of it. See you in about thirty minutes."

Brian hung up the phone and stared pointedly at Justin.

"I cannot believe you did that," Justin hissed, his hands on his hips.

"Still don't want to go?" Brian asked, arching his brow again. Justin just crossed his arms over his chest; he was not going to be wrangled by his husband's machinations. "That's fine; as you heard, I'll have Sonny Boy, Jenny and Emmett with me. We'll get more done without you anyways."

"You better not take Emmett," Justin hissed, jabbing Brian in the chest with his finger. "I love him to death, but his idea of fashion does not match mine. Do you hear me Brian!?"

"What was that, Sunshine?" Brian sing-songed; he pushed Justin's hand away and stepping around him, heading toward the door. "I can't hear you over the mental bonfire I'm building using those travesties as kindling."

"Brian!" Justin yelled at his retreating back; but Brian ignored him and kept walking. He followed him out of the closet, and the bedroom, and marched over to the top the stairs; only to watch as Brian quickly made his way down them, humming a tune under his breath. "You get back here!"

"Gotta go, Sunshine," Brian waved, heading toward the garage. "The rug rats and Emmy Lou are waiting; and you know what they are like when they are kept waiting."

"Brian!" he yelled again; fruitlessly it seemed as Brian didn't reappear.

Instead, Justin stood there, alone, his mouth agape, as he heard the garage door slam closed and the mechanical garage door rise, and then shut again moments later as a car went down the drive.

"Fuck!" he growled; he marched back into his room and picked up his phone, hastily dialing a number that he knew by heart. "Drew! Hey, how are you? I'm good. Look, I was wondering if Em was there…he is great! Can I speak with him for a moment? I wanted to invite him over so we could go over some of the shower details." Justin paused as he listened to Drew talking to Em in the background. "He will? Excellent! Tell him I'll order out for lunch from that little bistro he loves. See you in about thirty minutes."

Justin hung up, growled again and threw his phone onto the bed. Well, he may not have stopped the entire show, but at least he forestalled one of the acts. Because as much as he loved Em, he really didn't trust Brian to rein him in right now if only to teach Justin a lesson. Scrubbing his hand over his face, he spun on his heel and stormed off to his studio.

At the very least, this gave him plenty of frustration to work out; he might as well channel it into something productive.


	27. January 26

**January 26**

Brian leaned his head back against the couch cushion, barely paying attention to the movie playing on the TV. He couldn't even remember what it was about; it was something Justin had been keen on watching, but given that he was laying against Brian's chest, sound asleep, it was little more than background noise. Even Gus had stopped watching it in favor of watching something on his iPad.

He supposed he could have turned it off, or even paused it; but he was feeling far too lazy to reach down for the remote at his feet. Plus, moving would have meant potentially jostling Justin and waking him up. And after spending two restless nights, tossing and turning, and generally being unable to sleep, Justin really needed the rest.

Neither of them slept very well without the other these days.

Running his hands through fine blond hair, Brian pressed his lips to his sleeping husband's brow and closed his eyes as he slumped down further into the couch. He couldn't remember the last time he felt this content and relaxed. It seemed that between Kinnetik, Justin's show and everything to do with Sunbeam, they were always on the go lately and had little time for these quiet moments.

He'd even risked the wrath of Deb and told her that they wouldn't be at the family dinner that night because Justin was worn out. Not exactly a lie either. And, of course, if it meant her Sunshine needed to stay home because he was taking care of himself and the baby, she was more than happy to overlook it this once.

Sliding his hand down, Brian rested it against Justin's stomach and smiled; it wasn't quite a bump yet, just a swelling of his stomach, but it was irrefutable proof, outside the sonogram, that Sunbeam was a reality. And Brian couldn't help loving it. He loved all the changes Justin's body, could deal with all the mood swings and the cravings and even deal with a queen out or two, because it meant that soon they would have a child of their own.

Hopefully, one with Justin's sunshine smile.

Pressing his face against Justin's hair he inhaled the soft scent of apples and drifted between sleep and wakefulness; as he hadn't gotten much sleep either. And long gone were the days where he could stay up all night and still function at full speed the next day. He'd just about fallen asleep himself when a loud laugh startled him into wakefulness.

Justin snuffled and stirred, murmuring incoherently as his lashes fluttered. Brian shushed him quietly, running his hand soothingly over his back until he drifted off once more and then looked over at Gus. His Sonny Boy smiled sheepishly and mouthed an apology before going back to what he was watching with a wide grin.

"What are you laughing at, Sonny Boy?" Brian asked, curious as to what had his son so entertained that he'd completely forgotten that he and Justin were there.

"Huh?" Gus asked reflexively, before flushing guiltily and looking away, a shifty expression on his face. "Oh, uh nothing."

Brian stared at his son with narrowed eyes, instantly suspicious by his reaction; he knew his Sonny Boy far too well, and that look didn't bode well for his peace of mind.

"Really?" Brian said, his disbelief evident as he arched a brow.

"It's just a just a video on YouTube," Gus said, trying to play it off once more, even as he squirmed uncomfortably under Brian's doubtful gaze.

"Oh," Brian said, all faux innocence as he held out his hand. "Well, hand it over then; your old man could use a laugh."

"I don't think that's a good idea," Gus said hesitantly, chewing on his lip in a very Justin-like manner; the very mannerism Justin employed when his little twat was trying to talk his way out of something that he knew would irritate Brian to no end.

"What?" Brian simply stared at Gus, an unreadable expression on his face; which only served to make Gus even more nervous. "Surely you don't think I'll be offended; I doubt there is anything in it that I haven't seen before or that could shock me.

"You'd be surprised," Gus muttered under his breath, and then shot a wide, worried look Brian's way, as if realizing he'd said that out loud rather than in his head as he intended.

"Well, now you've really got my curiosity up," Brian said with a frown, wondering why Gus was being so resistant to showing him.

There were very few things that angered him these days and he tried to be fair in allowing Gus to make his own decisions when it came to his entertainment choices. Within reason, of course; the obvious things weren't allowed.

"I suppose you wouldn't just believe me when I said you really don't want to see it?" Gus asked, making one last ditch attempt to thwart Brian.

Brian just raised an eyebrow and held out his hand.

"Didn't think so," Gus muttered and handed him the iPad before flopping dramatically on the floor, his face buried in his arm. "Jus is going to kill me."

"Why would…" Brian trailed off as he stared in bewilderment at what looked like a list of videos that featured some very familiar people. "Is that Michael, Daphne and Justin?"

"Yeah," Gus huffed, but didn't provide any more information.

Brian looked at his son, who blatantly ignored it, and the he huffed. Obviously it was going to take some more prodding to get the necessary information out his Sonny Boy.

"Why is there a YouTube video of Mikey, Daphne and Justin?" Brian asked point blank, so that there was no way Gus could mistake him and muddy the water with half answers. "And why haven't I heard about this until now?"

"Uh, Aunt Daphne got mad at Uncle Mikey and kind of told him off at the Big Q?" Gus said, before clamming up and looking at his hands.

As if Brian hadn't noticed his lack of forthcoming information on the why of it. Brian turned back to the iPad with raised eyebrows and a small frown on his face. Justin hadn't mentioned this last night; or today either for that matter. Brian sighed internally. But, then again, the twat wouldn't because he was used to Michael's temper tantrums and wouldn't want to cause issues between him and Mikey.

Running his hand through Justin's hair, he stared in exasperation at the sleeping man and vowed that he and a certain little twat would be having a conversation on keeping him informed of what was happening in his life. Even if meant telling him about Mikey's latest tantrum; _especially_ if it dealt with Mikey's latest tantrum.

"And this is the video of it?" Brian asked, frowning when he noticed that earphones were missing; and then felt almost absurdly proud as he noticed them clutched in Gus' hand.

His Sonny Boy knew that he wouldn't play it without the earphones for fear of waking his Jus up; the clever little devil. Well, he wasn't going to win this time.

"Uh…there's actually a longer one," Gus said, sitting up and leaning over to touch the screen, pulling up the description area. "Apparently this is just the highlights reel."

"It has a highlights reel?" Brian asked incredulously, wondering how something that happened only two days ago, was so popular that there was a highlights reel. "And you never answered me; why haven't I heard about this until now?"

"It went viral, Dad," Gus huffed, his lips pursing mutinously. "I'm surprised you're just finding out about it because it's all the Avenue is talking about. Why did you think Michael hasn't been around?

"He told me he had the flu," Brian said, and then wanted to smack himself for believing the lie; because since when did Mikey ever go silent when he was sick? He was one of those people that believed that if he was suffering, then everyone around him had to suffer too.

"No," Gus snickered, a very Kinniesque smirk on his face. "More like he couldn't walk down the street without someone asking if he'd managed to scrape his balls off the floor after Daphne was done eviscerating them."

"Eviscerating them?" Brian asked, suddenly dreading what he was about to see. It was a well-known fact that Daphne didn't like Mikey; but she usually steered clear of him because she didn't think he was worth her time or verbal genius.

"You have to see it," Gus bubbled, a starry-eyed, awed look on his face; and Brian almost laughed at that. His Sonny Boy had long had a crush on Daphne and it looked as if it were still going strong. "She was brutal; but, of course, she would be because she was defending Jus and you know how Daphne is about Jus. She's nearly as vicious as you."

"What do you mean she was defending Justin?" Brian asked sharply; and Gus instantly clammed up once more, his eyes wide as he realized what he said.

"Uh, you know," Gus said, getting up and trying to leave, the earphones still in his hand. "There is this report I have to do and I should probably…"

"Gus," Brian said firmly, letting his Sonny Boy know he meant business; he didn't use that tone often as Gus was a good kid, but when it did happen Gus froze instantly in his tracks. His Sonny Boy turned around with an unhappy look; one that deepened when Brian held out his hand and commanded. "Hand them over."

"Fine," Gus said, his shoulders slumping as he walked back over to Brian. "But you didn't hear about it from me. Everyone has been hush-hush about it and I don't want to hear about it from Eema. The one on the screen is the highlights reel, but there is a link in the description that takes you to the original video."

Gus handed the earphones to Brian and then beat a hasty retreat, obviously not wanting to be around for the fallout of whatever Brian was about to see. Placing the ear buds into his ears, Brian tapped the replay button and his ears were immediately assaulted by a song he hadn't heard in years – Platypus (I Hate You) by Green Day. His eyebrows rose in surprise as he watched Daphne rip into Michael with a viciousness that left even _him_ breathless, her little gems interspersed the lyrics.

 

_You know, even if Brian wasn't satisfied with his sex life; which, trust me, he is given the stories I've heard. He still wouldn't be into you. And that's the real problem, isn't it?_

_He, at the mere age of seventeen, was far more of man than you could ever hope to be._

_Newsflash Mikey – if he hasn't sucked your dick in the twenty-eight years that he's known you, he isn't going to._

_He was a teenager and really just interested in someone else's hand on his dick._

_Bitch please; sell it to someone who's buying._

_Poor little Mikey needs someone to hold his hand through his life and make all his decisions for him. Doesn't have a mind of his own; always conforming to what his partners think is best._

_And just what are you going to do about it, huh? Run to mommy and complain that the mean girl is picking on you?_

_You are nothing but a spineless, petty, jealous, sorry excuse for a man who hides behind his mommy and has yet to realize that he wore out his welcome a long ass time ago._

 

Brian frowned; while he had to admit that the video was amusing, and the song choice suiting, the fact that it existed at all disturbed him. Not because Daphne went off on Mikey; he was surprised that it had taken this long for it to happen. But that something had pushed her to the point that she'd felt the need to do it at all. Unfortunately, the video didn't tell him the _why_ it happened.

Scrolling down a bit, he clicked on the link for the original video; and then scowled when Michael's face filled the screen, sneering at a placid Justin, and spouting off his usual venom, asking why Brian hadn't told him that he was leaving on a trip. And why it mattered to him, Brian didn't know as he'd thought they'd gotten over all this shit years ago when Brian told him point blank to butt the fuck out of his life.

He did smile faintly when Justin blandly pointed out the obvious and continued holding his own without even looking ruffled until Daphne came onto the scene and ripped Mikey a new one. And really, he didn't blame her one bit. Had he been the one to overhear that, Justin and he would be driving out to the woods to hide a body.

Setting the iPad on the ground, Brian frowned pensively and contemplated Mikey's recent tantrum, wondering just what the fuck had gotten into his friend of late. He thought Mikey had gotten over this bullshit when Justin and he'd gotten married. But ever since they'd announced Justin's pregnancy, it was like they'd slipped right back to the beginning and he was more than a little tired of constantly having to deal with this shit.

Something had to be done; and sooner, rather than later. Justin didn't need this stress.

"Brian?" a soft voice jolted him out of his reverie.

Brian looked down into the sleep-dazed, blue eyes studying him; he traced the soft pink lips that frowned pensively up at him and arched a brow.

"So, Sunshine, when were you going to tell me about the Mikey and Daphne smackdown YouTube video that went viral?"


	28. January 27

**January 27**

Justin took a sip of his chocolate-strawberry milkshake and opened the folder in front of him, nodding at the contents, quite pleased with what he'd seen so far.

When he'd given Emmett free rein on the baby shower, not wanting to deal with all the niggling details after the fiasco that was their wedding – and thank God that he never had to do that again; Sunbeam was completely on their own when they got married – he was worried that it would end up being an over the top event. One that he would have to veto in order to make sure Emmett survived the event.

Brian had been none to pleased at the thought of giving Emmett free rein, but Justin had had faith in their friend. And judging by the fun, but tasteful decorations he was seeing, he was absolutely justified in that trust.

"So, I was thinking; since you aren't planning to tell us the sex of the baby anytime soon," Em said, shooting Justin a disgruntled look. Justin just smile placidly in return; he had no intentions of caving on this anytime soon, so they all just had to deal. "That we should go with this cute yellow, grey and blue theme. But not baby blue, more of a sky blue like you see on this [invitation](https://imgur.com/YfWPs59)."

"That is so cute," Justin gushed, taking in the details.

"I figured that with you and Brian calling the baby Sunbeam," Em continued with a smile, flipping the page to reveal various [yellow and grey decorations](https://imgur.com/SiubxZS). "That would go with a ' _You are My Sunshine_ ' theme. I found some of the most adorable ideas for it." He flipped the page again. "Like, I was thinking of this for the cake."

"Oh, I like that," Justin clapped his hands and stared at the [two-tier cake](https://imgur.com/qTGrpc0); and then bit his lip, wondering if that would be enough to serve all of their guests. The party just seemed to keep growing no matter how hard Justin tried to rein it in. "But will that be enough for all of our guests? It looks a little small."

"Isn't it darling?" Em gushed, smiling down at the cake for a moment before growing serious. "We'd be cutting it pretty close as it is, but we plan to make a sheet cake as well just to be certain; plus there will be [cupcakes and cake pops](https://imgur.com/tEg3YCM) for the kids. And the best part is it utilizes the same colors and designs that are on the invitation. Darren is so excited to make it."

Justin nodded and took another sip of his drink. That actually was a really good idea to have the cake pops and cupcakes for the kids. It would certainly be much more manageable and they could choose a couple of different cake flavors.

"What about the food?" Justin asked, moving onto the next area that he wanted to focus on. "I know it starts at noon, but I was hoping to do a mix of breakfast and lunch foods. You don't think it would be too late for that, do you?"

"No, not at all," Em said, shaking his head and slipping ahead a few pages to a buffet layout." I was thinking that we'd do some sliders for sure; I know how much you loved those at the last party I gave." Justin nodded enthusiastically, practically salivating at the thought. "I was thinking we'd do the salmon cake sliders with mixed baby greens, thinly sliced tomato and garlic aioli. And the pulled short rib slider with the apple slaw. The lamb burger with thinly sliced cucumber and tomato, topped with feta and Tzatziki. And then a Portobello slider with baby Swiss, caramelized onions, mixed greens and tomato."

"Uh…on the feta," Justin said, chewing on his bottom lip, a worried expression on his face. He had gotten this huge list of do and don't eats from his doctor, but it was difficult to keep it all straight sometimes. "I thought I read something that said that I wasn't supposed to have soft cheeses? Feta being one of them."

"The feta is perfectly fine," Em said, waving off his concern; and then explained further when Justin remained skeptical. "Most cheeses are fine as long as they are made with pasteurized milk. The only ones you should avoid, even if they are made with pasteurized milk, are soft rind cheeses. And that is because of the way they are stored. They are stored in a damp environment which makes them ripe breeding grounds for Listeria." Justin nodded, relieved to hear that as he loved his cheese. Em patted him on the hand reassuringly. "Don't worry, Baby. I've made sure that almost all of the items on the menu are safe for you to eat."

"Almost?" Justin frowned, wondering what on the menu could potentially be harmful.

"Yes, well, as you know," Em said, flipping to the next page. "You wanted a smoked salmon platter for Brian, which is strictly on the no-no list. But you already knew that. The other item would be the Brie that we'll be using for one of the tea sandwiches and the cheese platter. That is also on the must be avoided list."

"Well I don't like it anyways," Justin wrinkled his nose, vividly recalling his first and last experience with the cheese at Dr. Dave and Mikey's slide show. He shuddered as he remembered the taste and texture. "So that is not a problem."

"Don't like what?" said a genial voice that Justin had come to dread

Sighing internally, he turned to the intruder with a thin smile, wishing the man had just ignored him for once. Brandon smiled down at him, licking his lips and his eyes raking over his body lustfully. Justin barely quelled a shudder of disgust. He didn't know what it was about this man, but the thought of him being anywhere near him made him ill.

This thing with Brandon had started several years back, and hadn't faded even after Justin and Brian had gotten married. After Brian had won that ill-thought out Top Ten competition, (and seriously, what the hell had his husband been thinking); and then had embarrassed the younger man by denying his winnings and tossing him out the door, Brandon's attention had swung from Brian and latched onto Justin for some reason.

He'd always thought it was because Brandon wanted to prove to Brian that he wasn't the only one who could have Justin at any time or any place he chose out of some misguided sense of revenge. As, he'd come onto Justin immediately there after when Justin had been out dancing at Babylon one night. Suspicious of his intentions, Justin instantly shot him down and walked away, ignoring the man for the rest of the night.

It had gotten ugly after that for about a week, with Brandon making pointed, snide comments that Justin ignored; he just didn't have the time for the other man's pettiness. And then another week later he and Brian were back on and it hadn't mattered.

He'd expected Brandon to drop it once he realized that nothing was going to happen; but every couple of months or so, the other man tracked Justin down and tried his luck once more.

"Brandon," Em said with a falsely bright smile, doing his best to draw the other man's attention from Justin. "How charming to see you out and about; I never realized that you actually made it out of the backroom like the rest of us mere mortals."

"A man has to eat sometime," Brandon said, tossing a fake smile of his own at Em; and then he turned to Justin, his smile morphing into something more genuine. "And when the scenery is so breathtaking, one can't help himself from basking in it. How are you today, Justin?"

"Brandon," Justin said blandly, keeping his features blank so that there was no way the other man could misread anything he did as encouragement. "Always a pleasure to see you." Not. "I've been doing well. And yourself?"

"Perfect now that I've seen you," Brandon said in a low voice, a leer on his face. Justin shuddered again internally, feeling very much in need of a shower after that look. And not due to any positive feelings on his part.

"Our Baby is quite radiant these days, isn't he?" Em said as he typed something into his phone and then set it aside and smiled at Justin. "I suspect it's that pregnancy glow that everyone talks about. Of course, being blissfully married to the man of his dreams plays a large part in that as well. I've never seen to people more in love. Well, except for maybe me and my Drewsie!"

"Kinney did luck out finding him before anyone else had a fair chance," Brandon said tightly, a muscle in his jaw ticking as he looked out the window. And Justin couldn't help but roll his eyes and share an exasperated smile with Em at that. Well, if that's they way it was going to be.

"I prefer to think I'm the lucky one," Justin smiled softly, as he always did when he thought of Brian. "He is as intelligent and talented is he is beautiful, inside and out, and so loving and supportive; I don't know how I got by without him. I couldn't ask for a better man in my life."

Yeah, he was laying it on thick; not that Brian wasn't all those things, but if the man in question could hear him right now, he would shudder, break out into hives and mutter something about lesbionic twats. Em pursed his lips, fighting back a smile as he stared at his phone; he tapped a couple of buttons and read whatever was there, his eyes clearing as started typing once more. Then he quickly set aside and smiled at Justin.

"That was just so sweet, Baby," Em gushed with a knowing glint in his eye. He was very well aware of what Justin was doing and more than happy to play along.

"Not to mention he has the most beautiful cock," Justin grinned lasciviously, internally snickering when Brandon stiffened at the mention. "God, I just can't get enough it."

"But the real question is," Em drawled confidentially, a sly smile on his face as he leaned over. "Is he as legendary in the sack as they all profess?"

"Like you need to ask," Justin smirked, well aware of the night the two had spent together before they were friends. "There is a reason that he still remains the uncontested Stud of Liberty Avenue; even if he is a retired stud these days." Justin turned and blinked as if surprised to see Brandon still standing there. Brandon, for his part, looked unhappy with the direction of their conversation. "Oh, sorry, Brandon; I do get carried away when it comes to my husband. Was there something you needed?"

"I just came over to…" Brandon said, leaning forward into Justin's space.

Justin moved away instantly, but didn't get very far away when Brandon was suddenly jostled out of the way by someone taking the seat next to him. Surprised, Justin met his husband's heated gaze for a brief second before Brian leaned down, prompting Justin to close his eyes and tilt his head up as Brian pressed lips to his. So, that's what Em had been up to. He really needed to buy something nice for his friend.

"Hey honey, I was able to make it after all," Brian said as he pulled away and picked up the folder that was sitting in front of Justin. "Got a last minute cancellation. Have you gone over the baby shower stuff already?"

"Kinney," Brandon said through clenched teeth, obviously irritated that he had been shunted aside yet again.

"Green," Brian said, wrapping a possessive arm around Justin, his eyes daring Brandon to do something so he had a reason to toss him out the door. Sadly, Brandon was far too smart for that and he just smiled thinly.

"See you around, Justin," Brandon said as he sauntered away.

"Not if I can help it," Justin muttered, scowling when Brian chuckled at his words.

"Now, now, now," Brian said, ruffling his hair and pressing a kiss to his cheek. "Let's not get testy. He can't help it if he has the good taste to admire your sweet, little ass."

"Yeah, well," Justin grimaced, shooting an irritated look at the departing Brandon. "I wish he'd admire it from as far away as possible. He gives me the creeps."

"Don't worry," Brian smirked, nuzzling against his cheek. "I'll protect you from the scary man, Sunshine."

Justin just shot him a dirty look; and then took a deep breath, and twisted his head in an effort to release some of the tension gathered in his neck. "So, did you really have a cancellation?"

"No, but Cynthia took over when she read Em's message," Brian admitted, casting a thankful look towards Em as he rubbed the back of Justin's neck. "She's well aware of how much you dislike these encounters with Brandon."

"Well, thank her for me when you get back," Justin said, relaxing into his husband's touch and shunting aside all thoughts of blonde's who couldn't take no for an answer.

Brian just hummed; he put in his order when the server came over and then turned to face Em with a tongue in cheek smirk. One that instantly raised Justin's hackles as it said he was up to no good.

"Hey, Emmy Lou," Brian said, casting a sly look Justin's way; one that had the hairs on the back of his neck standing further on end. "We missed you the other day."

Justin winced at those words and then shot Brian a 'don't you dare' look. One that Brian blatantly ignored as he focused all his attention on their friend. He wouldn't dare.

"The other day?" Em said, a bewildered look on his face. "Did we have plans that I wasn't aware of?"

"Nope," Brian said, still watching Justin from the corner of his eye. "I took Gus and Jenny shopping, and we were planning to stop by and see if you wanted go with us; but when I called, Drew said you'd already left to go talk to Justin about the baby shower. We were going maternity clothes shopping for Justin since he didn't want to go."

He did. Asshole. He would so pay for this later.

"Oh, what a shame!" Em frowned, looking disappointed to have missed it. "That would have been so much fun! Why on Earth wouldn't you want to go, Baby?"

"What my darling husband failed to mention," Justin said through clenched teeth, glaring at his smirking husband. Oh, yeah, he was going to pay; and pay dearly. "Was that I had gone shopping the day before with Daphne and had already picked up a bunch of maternity clothing."

"Yeah, at the Big Q," Brian sneered, his face twisted in disgust.

"Oh, say no more, honey," Em snorted, waving his hand in complete agreement. The traitor. Forget the nice gift. "I totally get how you needed to save our Baby from his bad fashion choices."

"Thanks," Brian snickered. "I knew you'd see it my way, Em. And actually, we can always go again; we didn't get a chance to get everything he'd need since I had to get the rug rats home."

"Oh, definitely," Em said, clapping his hands together with excitement, completely ignoring Justin's scowl. "Just let me know and I'll clear my schedule."

"I hate you," Justin muttered for Brian's ears only.

"Bet you'll want to come next time, won't you?" Brian replied with a smirk; and Justin just scowled and refused to answer, knowing when he was beat.


	29. January 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **AN:** Sorry to have been posting so late these past few days; I typically try to post around 7 p.m. PST, but lately I've just been busy with other things that usually eats into my typical writing time. Hopefully it will be better this coming week.

**January 28**

Leo sat back with a groan of appreciation, sipping from his glass of wine; he really wished he could eat more of the fine meal that Justin had provided for them, but he was almost full and he wanted to save some room for whatever dessert that Justin and Anna had prepared this evening.

Setting his wine aside, Leo stared mournfully at his plate, the rich taste of duck still in his mouth and silently toasted the cooks. They'd started with a lovely mint and watercress soup topped with a goat's cheese crostini; and followed that with an arugula salad with a lemon-parmesan dressing. Then the main had been seared duck breast with cherries and a port wine reduction, wild mushroom risotto and asparagus.

The duck had been seared to a perfect medium-rare; although, he did notice that Justin's had been cooked all the way through, which made sense given his pregnancy. It had been the perfect end, to a lovely day with the boys.

It was funny; when he'd first met Brian, he had admired his bold, brash personality and his determination not to let anything get in the way of what he wanted. They were traits that were good in a business man, especially in the person that was selling your product. But he hadn't liked the man all that much. He'd heard the rumors; that Brian Kinney played as hard as he worked and never passed up a man that caught his eye. That he was a wild card, who got things done, but wasn't the most reliable sort unless it came to business and getting it done.

And then there was the whole gay thing, which he'd never really understood and had been uncomfortable with at first. His atrocious behavior when Drew Boyd had first come out a huge indicator as to his mentality at that point in time. Thankfully, his wife had kicked some sense into him when she'd heard about it.

That was why, when Brian had introduced Justin as his partner, when that bright, bold man, who had stolen Leo's company _for_ Vanguard, then came back and stole it away _from_ him, he just didn't get it. Justin seemed to be the exact opposite of Brian in every way - bright, sunny and cheerful, a true optimist and more than happy to set up home and hearth. More the kind of man that he'd want in a son-in-law than someone he saw as the Shark-Known-as-Brian-Kinney's life and business partner.

And _then,_ he'd seen them together in the boardroom; and never had he watched a partnership jell the way theirs did. It was like they were reading each other's minds half of the time; and when it came to business, Justin was just as, if not more so, ruthless than Brian. It had been rather awe inspiring.

And _then,_ when he'd found out that Justin was the lead artist on the boards, and not only that, but the Justin Taylor, whose painting _Serendipity_ was hanging in his living room, well he'd just about been bowled over.

But more importantly, he saw a different side to Brian Kinney when he interacted with Justin; the boy brought out, not a softer side, but definitely softened the harsher edges of his personality. He liked the way Brian would often look to Justin for his opinion, and not defer to it per se, but certainly took it into account unless it came to the artistic side of the business; and then it was obvious that _that_ was Justin's domain.

They made a stunning team, and it had prompted him to take a chance and invite the younger couple out to dinner with him and his Lucille. And he hadn't regretted the decision since, as a friendship that he'd come to cherish had developed over the years. It also didn't hurt that Justin was the apple of Lucille's eye. If Leo hadn't known any better, he'd swear that Justin was her long lost child.

"That was a wonderful meal, Justin," Lucille said, jarring Leo out of his musings; and he felt momentarily embarrassed that he'd let his thoughts get away from him. Justin beamed with pleasure, nearly blinding the entire room. "I'm surprised that you and Brian remain as trim as you do, if you eat like that all the time."

"Justin could eat his weight in food and not gain an ounce," Brian snorted, sending his husband a tongue in cheek grin. "It's annoying actually. Me? I have to exercise five times a week to maintain what he does just by running around the house."

"I remember those days," Leo sighed, patting his belly; which was full of glorious food and wine. "Sadly; I gain weight if I even look at food these days." He raised his glass to his wife. "Luckily, my lovely Lucy loves me anyways."

"So, I'm assuming that I can't tempt you into dessert then," Justin said teasingly, knowing full well that Leo had a notorious sweet tooth and he wouldn't miss it.

"I never said that," Leo said quickly and then gave a deep, belly laugh. "Let's not be too hasty there; I always have room for dessert. It'll just be more of me to love."

"Oh, pish posh," Lucille snorted, rolling her eyes at Leo, her words warming Leo's heart. "As if you aren't the same gorgeous man I married thirty years ago, you well you know it."

"Well," Leo said thoughtfully, although the amused smirk on his mouth probably gave him away. "They always do say that eyesight is one of the first things to go."

"Oh, you," Lucille huffed and threw her napkin at him, while the rest of them laughed. "I'll have you know that my vision is perfectly fine, you old coot." She paused. "Then again…that is a green shirt you're wearing, right?" she said, squinting at his very obviously blue shirt.

Leo snorted and threw the napkin right back at her, making both Justin and Brian exchange fond looks with each other and laugh. Turning to the young couple, Leo was happy to see that glow that very few people get when they look at each other, but professed that the two sharing the moment were soulmates.

Yeah, he was a bit of a romantic; sue him.

"How about we adjourn to the living room for dessert and some after dinner drinks so that Anna can clean up," Brian said, interrupting Leo's thoughts as he set his napkin onto the table and stood.

"Oh, I can…" Justin immediately stood and made to clear the table; always willing to help, that dear boy. But he was halted in his tracks by Brian's stern look.

"Justin," Brian said, a warning in his tone; Justin looked as if he was going to protest, but quieted when Brian tucked a strand of his hair behind his ear and reminded him. "You know as well as I do that she'll never allow it."

"Ugh," Justin rolled his eyes and scrunched his nose. "I swear, between the two of you; I'd be wrapped up in swaddling if either of you had your way."

"But they're right, dear," Lucille said, smoothing the waters as she always did. She tucked her arm into Justin's. "I know how notoriously stubborn you can be, but let them fret and coddle you a bit. You're going to need it when it gets later into your pregnancy. Now come with me; I want to hear all about the plans for your shower. And I better get an invite young man. Nothing will keep me away from celebrating your first born."

And with that, Lucille expertly maneuvered Justin out the door. Brian just watched in awe, shaking his head at how easily Justin caved, while Leo snickered. Both boys should have known by now that Lucille _always_ got her way.

"I've set up the dessert tray and the scotch and Mrs. Brown's favorite port in the room, Mr. Kinney," Anna said with a smile as she walked into the dining room. "There is peppermint tea for Justin, of course."

"Thank you, Anna," Brian said, nodding to her as he stepped around the table and headed toward Leo. "I appreciate you staying late and helping out."

"It's not a problem," Anna said, and then turned her attention to the table.

"Shall we catch up with our spouses?" Leo smirked, nodding his head towards the two voices echoing in the other room. "Before Lucy talks poor Justin's ear off."

"That's only if he hasn't done the same," Brian snorted, leading the way into the living room. He walked over to a small bar and held up a crystal decanter. "Scotch?"

"Please," Leo nodded as he took a seat in the armchair nearest the fire. Brian walked over and handed him a drink; he nodded his thanks, idly listening to Justin fill Lucy in on all the set details of the baby shower.

"Would you like some port, Lucille?" Brian asked as he walked back over to the bar and held up a bottle for her perusal.

"Please, darling," Lucille smiled, and held up her plate. "It will go perfectly with this caramel cheesecake."

Leo snickered, because only Lucille could get away with calling Brian Kinney, darling, and not have the man make a face or bite her head off. Although, it would have been amusing to see him try. Leo took a sip of his scotch and then took the plate of cheesecake from Justin, nodding his thanks.

Justin smiled and then turned away, reaching for the third plate, and cut an extra big slice of cheese cake, knowing that despite Brian denying he wanted any, he usually ended up stealing about a third of Justin's desserts. But as he was pulling away, he jostled his cup and knocked it over, splashing tea all over the tray.

"Oh, fuck," Justin cursed under his breath, and then flashed a sheepish smile as he picked up his tea cup. "Pardon my language. I spilled some tea."

"I'll get a towel," Brian said, setting the bottle of port onto the bar, missing the flash of alarm on Justin's face.

Leo raised a brow at that; especially when Justin sprang up from his chair and started walking swiftly across the room towards the downstairs linen closet; which, curiously enough, was only a few feet from where Brian was standing. It certainly would have made much more sense if Brian had gotten it; but for some reason, Justin didn't want Brian going over there. Something that Brian obviously realized too as he spun around and watched his husband's odd behavior with a frown.

"Uh, no that's okay," Justin said hastily, casting a nervous look Brian's way. "I'll get it."

"Justin, I'm closer to the closet and standing," Brian said, his frown deepening, but he remained standing by the bar as Justin breezed past him.

"It's fine," Justin said, his voice taking on a strident note, which seemed to do nothing to assuage Brian. "I was the one that spilled it, so I'll get." Brian continued to watch him oddly, prompting Justin to roll his eyes. "Jesus, Brian, it's just a few feet away. I think I can manage a trip to the closet all on my own."

"Sure you can; but you were sitting and I'm…closer…" Brian said slowly, cocking his head as he watched Justin with narrow eyes. And then something seemed to come to him and his lips compressed into a thin line as he walked towards the closet; he obviously knowing something was off with his husband.

Leo looked at Lucille and arched a brow, but she just shrugged and shook her head. So, she had no idea either. Brian, on the other hand, stepped up behind Justin and grabbed the door just as Justin was getting ready to close it; they both struggled with it for a few seconds before Brian merely glared down at the shorter man. Justin huffed and stepped aside, reluctantly letting the closet door go; and then he pursed his lips as Brian poked his head into the closet and made a triumphant cry.

Brian smirked and then pulled out a couple of well-known boxes, much to Justin's annoyance. "And just what do we have here, Sunshine?"

Leo snorted with amusement now that he knew what was going on; Cynthia had filled him in on the ongoing Twinkie struggle. Lucille chuckled herself and watched the two husbands spar with a great deal of pleasure and fondness. Well, things were never boring with them.

"This looks like a box of Twinkies to me," Brian said with faux surprise; Justin just scowled and crossed his arms over his chest. "But that can't be as I specifically remember a conversation about this and how you weren't going to eat them anymore."

"In your dreams maybe," Justin hissed and snatched the boxes out of Brian's hands, holding them behind his back. "Me on the other hand; I recall telling you that I will eat my Twinkies when I damned well feel like it."

"Now Justin," Brian sighed, shaking his head at his husband; and if Leo was reading it right, he was more amused than annoyed. "You know I'm just looking out for your health."

"Don't care," Justin growled, tucking the Twinkies against his chest and holding onto them for dear life. "They're mine and you can't have them."

"Justin…" Brian said, but was quickly interrupted by Leo's darling wife.

"Oh Brian, leave the boy be," Lucille said with amusement, rolling her eyes as she set her plate aside. "If he wants his Twinkies, let him have his Twinkies. There are far worse things he could be eating." She stood and walked over to Justin and linked her arm with his. "Now, come dear; show me this mural you've been telling me about."

Justin walked off with Lucille, his precious Twinkies still tucked in his arms, and glanced over his shoulder, flashing a triumphant smile. Brian just shook his head and shot him a heated look. They conversed silently with their eyes, seemingly going back and forth, until finally Justin flushed and quickly looked away. _Then_ it was Brian's turn to smirk triumphantly and saunter away. He walked over to the bar and poured himself a scotch, acting as if he'd won that confrontation. And he probably had based on Justin's reaction.

Sighing, Brian walked back over and sat down, taking a small bite out of Justin's cheesecake.

"A word of advice from a man that has been through this three times before?" Leo said with a small smirk, somehow knowing Brian didn't need the advice, but daring to impart it anyways. "Choose your battles wisely; because this is a battle you will never win."

"Oh, I know," Brian laughed, a tongue in cheek smile on his face. "To be honest, I don't even care all that much; I just find the entire thing amusing. As long as he's denied them, he'll keep craving them; and if I keep him focused on this, then I don't have to worry about him getting into worse mischief."

"Devious," Leo said, toasting him with his glass. "I always knew you were someone to watch. Hopefully Justin won't figure out what kind of game you're playing anytime soon."

"Oh, I'm sure he knows," Brian said, a touch of pride in his eyes. "He's a smart one even if he plays the naïve innocent at times to get his way. He has as much fun with these games as I do, so he willing plays along just to keep our friends guessing."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually had prompts for this one; not sure that I really hit them, but here they are:
> 
>  **Prompts:** Leo Brown POV; he and his wife are visiting; there to finalize the campaign they discussed when Brian flew to Chicago; Leo and his wife are fans of Justin's, so they find any reason to see him. Hence the visit, because Brian didn't bring him on this last trip. Mrs Brown (Lucille?) was very disappointed Justin didn't come and just had to go see him since he's expecting.


	30. January 29

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  _AN:_ So, this isn't the vignette I was planning to write today; I made an outline when I first started this story, with a day by day listing of what I wanted to cover for the first two months. But what I planned on for today, no longer inspired me like it did over a month ago during planning. So, I scrapped it for another day and just wrote. And this was the result. I hope you like it.

**January 29 – 21weeks**

Brian looked through the lens once more, making a few adjustments to the height of the tripod and the focus as he stared at Justin across the room. Justin huffed and continued to hold the sign on the wall, waiting to see if Brian was happy with it's placement. But even with the minor adjustments, it still wasn't fully visible.

"Lift the sign a little higher; I think about an inch should do it," Brian said a bit absently, smirking when Justin rolled his eyes and lifted by the placard the suggested distance. Brian smiled and gave Justin a thumb's up. "Perfect; I think that will do it."

Justin shook his head and pressed the light yellow placard into the wall, making sure to firmly smooth along the edges where they'd placed the blu-tack. Standing back, he stared at it critically to make sure that it was straight and then shrugged, deeming it good enough for his artistic sensibilities.

"I thought these were all supposed to be exactly the same for Gus' project?" Justin asked as he continued to study the placard, which read, _'21 Weeks!'_ And then was filled a few random facts about Sunbeam's size and milestones.

"They are," Brian said as he adjusted the digital camera once more, swapping out one memory card for another. He carefully placed the card with all of Gus' data on it in a case and put it on the dresser, so that he didn't misplace it; but kept it readily handy, so that he could put it back in and film the thirty seconds of footage after this.

"So, what's with the sign?" Justin asked, gesturing to the placard as he quickly changed into the white t-shirt and black track pants that he'd been using for Gus' project.

"That's for our own personal collection," Brian said, smirking when Justin's head popped up and he looked at him with surprise. "I thought we could have weekly progress pictures now that you're showing. We can put them in the baby book."

"Oh," Justin whispered, his eyes watering and his lower lip trembling just a smidgen; he sniffled a little and looked away to discreetly wipe his eyes as his hormones and emotions got the better of him.

"Please tell me that those are just your allergies acting up again," Brian teased, sniggering when Justin flipped him off.

"Fuck off," Justin huffed as he walked over to stand by the placard, an annoyed look on his face; but Brian was well aware that he wasn't mad at him, just annoyed that his hormones had his emotions all over the place. "Just wait until _you_ get pregnant and _you_ have to deal with all these fucking hormones. It won't be so funny then."

"Who said anything about me getting pregnant?" Brian snorted, ignoring the dull ache in his heart that those words brought him; although, it wasn't as sharp as it had been when Justin and he had first started talking about having another child.

"If _I_ have to go through this…" Justin stated testily, pointing a finger at Brian, but soon trailed off when he noticed Brian's pained expression. "Brian?"

"You know that it's not likely that I'll ever get pregnant, Sunshine," Brian said, his voice hoarse as he looked away.

And it was the truth; between his cancer and his age, not to mention all the drugs he'd done, and all the booze he'd drank when he was younger, he'd been told that he far too high of a risk for a healthy pregnancy. if he'd been told this when he was younger, he wouldn't have cared. At that point in his life, he'd never imagined himself living to see the age of thirty, let alone the age of forty-two; and settling down and having kids hadn't even been a thought in his mind.

But now, he felt definitely felt the pinch of never experiencing what Justin was experiencing.

"Not only is my age a factor," Brian continued with grimace, voicing _some_ of his inner thoughts. "But there is also the issue of my cancer; or the radiation treatments specifically. I…I never checked, but with the location of my cancer, and...well, the likelihood that things are far too damaged down there is…"

"I know," Justin said, wrapping his arms around him, startling Brian as he hadn't even heard him move. His eyes were full of regret, but Brian just waved him off. He knew that Justin wasn't being purposely hurtful when he'd said that. "I shouldn't have said it."

"It's fine," Brian said, dropping a kiss on the top of his head; and then smirked and patted his ass in an effort to lighten the mood. "That's why I have you, my little incubator…"

"Oh, fuck off," Justin snorted, pulling out of his arms and marching back over to the taped marker on the floor. "You're such an asshole; sometimes I wonder why I put up with you."

"Because you soooooo adore me," Brian drawled in the same way a seventeen-year-old Justin used to do when they'd first met; Justin just sent him an exasperated look. "Now just stand there, smile and look pretty."

Brian chuckled when Justin flipped him off again; but he did indeed stand on his mark and smile, and looked fucking beautiful doing it. He watched his husband in awe, his camera clicking as Justin smiled and preened.

"Pull your shirt tight over your belly, Sunshine," Brian coached, waiting until Justin smoothed the shirt down and tucked it under the slight swell in his stomach. "Yeah, like that; perfect. Let's see that precious baby bump; Sunbeam is making the great debut."

Justin scrunched his nose and stuck out his tongue.

"Attractive," Brian sniggered, clicking the camera, "and forever immortalized on film."

"Bite me," Justin quipped, sticking his tongue out again.

"Later," Brian promised, snapping a few more pictures; just because he couldn't resist it. He took out the memory card and reinserted the card with Gus' data on it. "Now, take the placard down and so we can film this last bit for Gus and call it good for the day."

"Yes, sir," Justin mock saluted, reaching over to pull the sign off the wall.

"If only you were always this compliant," Brian mock lamented, sniggering when Justin scoffed. "My life would be so much easier."

"And boring as fuck," Justin snorted, setting the sign off to the side, and out of the frame, and then walking back to stand on his mark, smoothing the white t-shirt over his stomach.

"You do make life interesting, Sunshine," Brian agreed with single a nod of his head; he fiddled with the settings until he had Gus specifications set.

"I live to please," Justin said with a smile.

"And please you do," Brian leered, slowly running his eyes over his husband's body.

"Stop that," Justin complained, squirming under his heated look. "I can't have a hard-on for Gus' project and that is so not helping."

"Yes, dear," Brian sing-songed, pitching his voice into a falsetto and then sniggering once again when Justin rolled his eyes and made a rude gesture. "Okay, I'm starting in three, two, smile pretty."

Justin smiled, his hands cupping the small swell of his stomach, the shirt pulled taut to reveal the beginnings of his baby bump. Brian swallowed thickly and blinked back the tears in his eyes, dying to go over and kneel before his gorgeous husband and slid his arms around his waist and press kisses across the swell of his stomach. Something he _never_ thought he'd _ever_ want to do in his lifetime. But Justin had always managed to tip his world on its axis.

Smiling at the beautiful sight in front of him, Brian ticked off the last remaining seconds on the video screen and then turned the camera off.

"And that's us done for the day," he said, putting the lens cap back on and stretching.

His mind instantly turned to the things he needed to do that day at work; and for once, he didn't feel the charge he always got when he did, or the need to hurry off and get things done. For once, he really wanted to just grab Justin and drag them back to bed, and spend the morning loving him.

Sighing, Brian scrubbed his hand over his hair and turned toward the closet. Entering their walk-in, he looked up and frowned as he caught Justin staring at himself in the mirror, a pensive frown on his face. He turned to the side and smoothed the shirt over his stomach, his frown deepening as he rested a hand on the swell. He sighed and took off his shirt and once again studied himself from all sides, obviously unhappy with what he was seeing.

Brian pressed his lips together, suddenly seeing all to well what was going through his husband's mind. Clearing his throat, his frown deepened when Justin looked up, startled to see him standing there. His face smoothed and he turned from the mirror, hurriedly pulling out a set of his painting clothes from one of the shelves.

At one time, Brian would have ignored this and let Justin pretend nothing was happening; of course, he'd been an asshole then, only caring about his next fuck. But he would have turned away and not bothered to reassure the man because it would have been far too lesbionic for his tastes and he didn't do touchy-feely. Thankfully, he'd matured beyond that short-sighted mindset and he wasn't about to let this pass.

Not when he had spent the entire morning in awe of his husband's beauty.

Walking up behind Justin, he wrapped his arms around him; thankful that instead of pulling away, he sunk back into his arms and pressed his face into his shoulder and upper arm. Pressing a kiss on top of his head, Brian just held him for a minute and then turned him in his arms so that he could look into his face.

"Please tell me you're not thinking about that bullshit Michael was spouting off while at the Big Q," Brian said, sliding a finger under Justin's chin and tipping his head back.

But Justin refused to meet his eyes.

"No, of course not, I…" Justin hedged, looking anywhere but him.

"Justin," Brian said, grabbing his chin between his fingers and forcing him to meet his eyes.

"I…I'm trying not to," Justin said, a slight hitch in his voice as he tentatively met Brian's concerned gaze. He bit his lower lip. "But…"

"Justin," Brian sighed and pressed his lips to his husband's brow as he considered what he wanted to say. "Sunshine...do you have _any_ idea how beautiful you are to me?"

"Yeah?" Justin said, a small dash of hope lighting his eyes.

"Oh, yes," Brian husked, crushing his lips to Justin's, and lingering, licking the tip of his tongue into his mouth before pulling back; he ground his already hard dick into Justin's, savoring his husband's low groan as he whispered against his lips. "You are so fucking sexy. I love looking at you and knowing, _seeing_ , the fact that you're pregnant with my… _our_ child."

Justin's breath hitched as Brian mouthed kisses over his neck and his bare shoulders, slowly maneuvering him back over to the mirror. He wanted Justin to see what he saw, standing there in next to the window, bathed in morning light, his hair gilded and eyes bright as stars as his hands cupped their child. The way his skin glowed, as if he were lit from within, like an angel fallen to Earth.

Brian spun Justin back around to face the mirror; Justin flinched and tried to turn away, but Brian just held firm and kept him facing the mirror, administering those soft, wet kisses over his shoulders and neck. He licked a long, wet stripe along Justin's jaw, ending at the hollow behind his ear, and then nipped the lobe as he slid his hand up to cup Justin's jaw. Gripping it, he tipped it back, so that Justin had no choice but to look in the mirror.

"What…" Justin stammered, his breath growing ragged as their gazes met and he saw the heat in Brian's. He licked his lips and swallowed thickly, his gaze anchored with Brian's, unable to look away as Brian continued to tease his jaw, neck and shoulders with his teeth, tongue and lips. "Why are you doing this?"

"Because you need to remember how fucking beautiful you are to me," Brian stated firmly, sliding his hands over Justin's chest and down to cup the swell of his stomach; and God, it still amazed him to feel that small bump under his fingers.

"Brian…" Justin whispered, his eyes falling half-mast as Brian rubbed the swell of his stomach and then one hand continued down to cup his dick. His eyes grew dark and smoky as the Brian slid his hand into his pants and wrapped around his dick.

"Look at you," Brian murmured against his ear, pressing a small kiss there; humming at the little noises Justin made in the back of his throat as he slowly stroked his dick. "So fucking beautiful that it still takes my breath away every time you walk into the room; and then when you see me and smile…yeah, that. Just like that. I can't help, but wonder how the fuck I got so lucky as to have you in my life."

"You…" Justin gasped, arching his hips into Brian's hand when Brian slowly circled thee head of his cock with his thumb before dipping under to tease the sensitive nerves there. "Are…such cornball."

"Only for you," Brian promised, pulling his hand out of Justin's pants, smirking when Justin whimpered at the loss; but then he gasped again as Brian grabbed the waistband of his pants and tugged them over his hips, and down, leaving them to pool at his feet. "Fuck. You are so fucking hot."

Spinning Justin around again, Brian ripped off his shirt and then crushed him against his body, grinding his clothed dick into Justin's. Growling at the hindrance, Brian yanked off his sweat pants and then dragged Justin closer to the wall of mirrors, tumbling them down onto the thickly carpeted floor. He maneuvered them until Justin was on his back and they were lying length-wise to the mirrors, their bodies on full display.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Justin gasped, and then groaned, his lashes fluttering when Brian covered his body with his, grinding their dicks together.

"Moving you so there is a better view," Brian murmured against his ear, rocking his hips into Justin's, their pre-come covered dicks sliding together with every thrust, until Justin was moaning and rocking back against him.

"Brian!" Justin cried, biting his lower lip as they continued to move together, pleasure zinging over Brian's nerves each time their dicks brushed and ground together. "You can't…we can't…you have to…"

"Yes, we can," Brian said, reaching up and grasping Justin's chin and turning him to face the mirror. "Because you need to see how fucking gorgeous you are; how fucking sexy I think you are." He whispered, meeting Justin's lust blown eyes in the mirror. "I love watching you. The way you writhe, the way you squirm and bite your lower lip and try so hard to hold back as I'm pounding into you."

"Brian…" Justin murmured, his eyes riveted on the sight of them moving together. Brian kissed, nipped and licked his way down Justin's body, worshiping it, all the while keeping his eyes anchored with Justin's in the mirror, so that he had no doubt just who Brian was thinking of when he fucked him.

Fucking Mikey and his fat-assed mouth; he needed to deal with that menace and soon; no one made his husband feel inferior and lived to get away with it.

"I can't think of a more erotic sight... other than when I make you come," Brian said, fumbling with his sweats, and pulling out the little bottle of lube that he'd stuck in there this morning. He screwed it open with one hand, the other still wandering over and worshiping Justin's body as it was made to be worshiped. "You in the throes of passion is one of the most exciting and stunning things I've ever experienced."

"Oh, God," Justin groaned as Brian slid two slicked fingers inside him; his body contracted and tightened around them for a moment and then gradually loosened. Brian slowly thrust his fingers in and out of Justin's body, scissoring them to stretch the muscles, teasing his fingers over his prostate every now and then.

Justin writhed, and rocked his hips, fucking himself onto Brian's fingers, trying to take them as deeply as he could. Brian watched Justin's face, entranced. His eyes were closed in bliss, lashes fluttering against flushed, sweat-kissed cheeks each time Brian dragged his fingers over his prostate; his lips were slack as he moaned and made the most delightful kittenish sounds that went straight to Brian's dick.

Groaning, Brian pulled his fingers free, ignoring Justin's hiss of disappointment and generously lubed himself up before sliding into his husband. Justin cried out and arched his back. His body constricted around Brian's dick and it was all he could do not to fucking come right then and there. Panting into Justin's neck, he held himself very still, both to give Justin a chance to adjust and to give himself a chance to calm down.

"Open your eyes; look at yourself, Sunshine," Brian commanded, his breath hot and harsh against Justin's ear. Justin's eyes fluttered open and met his in the mirror once more, both sets blown wide and lust-drunk. "Really look at yourself and realize that I have never seen such a bewitching sight in my life."

Justin groaned and shifted his hips, making Brian clench his hands into his waist, hard enough to bruise. Gasping Brian began to move his hips, thrusting into Justin with long, slow strokes, angling to himself so that he scraped over his prostate with every glide. He slid in and out of his husband's body until Justin was met his every thrust, his legs clenched around Brian's waist and his cries echoing in his ears.

Sweat-kissed skin slid against sweat-kissed skin, ratcheting up the tension and pleasure between the two of them until their bodies were taut, coiled and screaming for release. Reaching between them, Brian wrapped his hand around Justin's dick, stroking him in time to his thrusts, until Justin jerked and stiffened beneath him as he came, crying out Brian's name as he spilled between them.

And once again Brian was entranced.

"Fucking gorgeous," he whispered as he watched Justin's face go slack with pleasure, his lashes fluttering and a small smile flitting across his face at his words.

And then he was lost as he continued to thrust into his husband's body, chasing his own release until the coiled heat in his stomach broke free and the world whited-out around him. Clutching his hands Brian thrust a few more times, riding out his orgasm, before slumping against Justin, spent and sated.

Nuzzling his face against Justin's, and Brian pressed a small kiss against his neck, his jaw and finally his lips and whispered, "Never doubt that you are totally, utterly and completely fucking gorgeous to me."

And Justin smiled against his lips, one of those bright, sunshine smiles that had always captivated him, and returned the kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those curious, I cast Helen Mirren as [Lucille Brown](https://imgur.com/aj2ld9v), Leo's wife.


	31. January 30

**January 30**

Justin leaned back against the cushion with a contented sigh, idly flipping through a parenting magazine that had mysteriously ended up in his messenger bag. Really, his mother was not as sly as she thought she was; especially given that there were several post-its with her writing on them marking articles of interest.

He shifted in his seat, wincing a bit as his ass was still a bit tender from the day and night before; when Brian took the day off to show him just how much he wanted him before Justin had the chance to work himself into an epic queen out. He grimaced, and still couldn't believe that he'd let that little weasel's words get to him.

Typically, Michael's words slid right off Justin's back because he had long since written the man off. He was polite, and even friendly at times, with Michael when they were in a group setting; and absolutely professional when it came to working with him on Rage. But, most of the time, there was just too much bad blood and spite between them for Justin to actually call him a friend. And the only reason Michael was even still part of Justin's life was the fact that he was Brian's oldest friend. And that was all he was in Justin's mind; he couldn't in good conscience call Michael a best friend, because what kind of friend routinely pulls the shit that he does?

But, Michael had found, and torn into him, at a weak moment that day; which was the only reason he'd given the little shit's words any consideration at all.

He'd just found out that his clothing no longer fit him, which meant that he finally had to break down and go shopping for maternity clothing. On top of that, Brian had been away for two nights, so Justin hadn't been able to sleep all that well. Plus, Brian had been so busy with back-to-back meetings and wining-and-dining his clients that they hadn't had the time for their typical hour to two conversations before they went to bed. Add to that interfering mothers, and know-it-all-WASPs, and this odd feeling that he was being watched lately; and well, Justin wasn't really in the right frame of mind to deal with a Novotny Special.

And the little dickwad always knew just where to strike for the maximum pain.

Inhaling deeply, Justin counted to ten in his head and slowly relaxed his muscles; it would do no good to get worked up over the petty, little asshole's words again. That is exactly what he was hoping for and Justin wasn't going to give him the satisfaction; especially when Brian had gone above and beyond to reassure him.

Flipping the page, Justin raised his eyebrows as he read the title of one of the marked articles – _How to Pick a Name for Your Baby_. Humming under his breath, he settled down to read it, as this was actually something that could be useful. Outside of Brian mocking poor Adelbert's name (and seriously, who the fuck names their kid that?), they really hadn't talked about baby names outside of saying ' _we are never naming our kid this_.'

Like Adelbert.

Or Tiberius.

Or...well, any name that Michael came up with because it was likely comic based.

Justin had just gotten into the meat of the story when the scent of vanilla, apple and sandalwood filled his nose; he smiled and tipped his head back, accepting the soft kiss on his lips just as Brian wedged himself behind Justin. He closed his eyes, and just breathed Brian in, the familiar scent and presence going a long way towards loosening the knot that had grown in his stomach since his encounter with Michael.

"What are you doing?" Brian asked, pressing a small kiss to the hollow of his ear; his hands massaging his neck and shoulders, releasing even more built up tension.

"I'm reading an article on how to pick a name for the baby," Justin murmured, enjoying the feel of Brian's hands on him; there was nothing better in the world than when his husband's hands were on him.

"What's so difficult about it?" Brian quipped, sliding his arms around Justin's neck and pulling him back against his chest. "You pick a name you like, tell the doctors; they put on the birth certificate. End of story."

"It's not as easy as you'd think," Justin said, opening his eyes to focus back on the article, his body much more relaxed now that Brian was there.

"I have the feeling I'm going to regret asking this," Brian sighed, maneuvering Justin until he was sitting between his legs, flush against his crotch. "But why isn't it that easy?"

"Well there are several things to consider," Justin said, instantly taking on his 'teacher voice' as Brian called it; the one he used when imparting some random fact or he was being Brian's personal public service announcer.

"Like?" Brian asked, obviously humoring him.

"Like the initials," Justin said, coming up with a name with the letters he wanted off the top of his head and using the one listed in the article as it would work with their combined named. "Like I certainly wouldn't name our child Fiona Aileen or Zachary Ian."

"Well, neither would I," Brian scoffed, his nose scrunching in disgust at both names. "But I'm not seeing the significance."

"F-A-T," Justin spelled out and then paused to flash a knowing look over his shoulder before spelling out the initials for the second name. "Z-I-T."

"Hey, there _is_ a 'K' in that last name as well," Brian protested, but did acknowledge the unfortunate letter groupings with a grimace.

"Kids aren't going to care about that, Brian," Justin said, recalling all too well what little assholes his classmates had been when they'd found out that Daphne's full name was Daphne Isabel Chanders. And wow, had she ever been pissed when she'd made the connection herself; she'd quickly changed it as soon as she was old enough to do so. "They are cruel, vicious, little animals when they get to a certain age and all they will see is 'FAT' or "ZIT' and our child's school years will be an absolute nightmare."

"Point taken," Brian nodded, running his fingers along Justin's arm, sending a delicious little shiver tripping down Justin's spine; a planned move judging by the smirk pressed against his neck.

"We also don't want to name our child something that everyone else is using," Justin said, a bit distracted by the lips tracing along his neck and jaw line. "After all, how many Jacksons and Madisons are in Gus' class?"

"I don't think we need to worry about that," Brian murmured, his hands running down Justin's sides to his waist, pulling him further into the vee of his legs.

Justin gasped at the feeling of Brian's erection pressed firmly against his ass; and then groaned. While he'd love to turn around, straddle his husband and do something about it, he didn't think he was capable of doing _anything_ at the moment. Squirming against him, Justin smirked as Brian hissed and clamped his hands on Justin's hips to still them; it was, however, very gratifying to know that his husband wanted him as much as ever.

Especially given yesterday's near meltdown.

"Although, I would kinda like to keep the family tradition of using a derivative of the grandparents name for a middle name," Brian continued, wrapping an arm around Justin's waist. "My mom may be a vicious waste of space, as are yours and my dads. But your mother is a saint and both sets of our grandparents are amazing. We could draw inspiration from them."

"I'd like that," Justin smiled, loving the idea of a girl with his mother's name; or even a boy with Brian's middle name, which had been his paternal grandfather's name. "And I think they would too. Although, Deb and Vic were more your parents than Joan and Jack; so, don't forget them."

"They would be good role models too; or would have been in Vic's case," Brian agreed, a thread a grief running through his voice even all these years after Vic's death. He cleared his throat and rested his head on Justin's shoulder. "So, what else does this article tell you?"

"Oh, well." Justin looked at the article, as he hadn't gotten that far into it yet. "It says that we should also pay attention to the significance of the name – like the meaning of it and, as you just pointed out, potentially using family names. And also making sure that the names age well; names like Rain or Peach or Lucky might sound cute now, but when they get older, they might just murder us in our sleep for encumbering them with that name."

" _THAT_ will never happen," Brian emphatically stated, shuddering at the examples that Justin had given. "I have far better taste than that; and if you even tried, I would knock you out, name the child while you were sleeping and deal with the consequences later."

"So, no Sunbeam or Sunray Taylor-Kinney in our future?" Justin asked, his tongue pressed into his cheek, snickering when Brian glared at him.

"I'm not even going to dignify it with an answer," Brian muttered, flopping back against the couch cushion with a disgusted look. "Sunbeam is perfectly suitable as a nickname, but if you even try to name our child that, there will be severe consequences."

"Depending on said consequences," Justin mused, a wicked gleam in his eyes. "That might not be the threat you think it is."

"Twat," Brian huffed, but the amusement in his eyes belied the gruffness of tone.

"Your twat, "Justin murmured, not expecting his husband to hear him."

"That's right," Brian said, wrapping his arms possessively around him. "All mine; and don't you ever forget it."

Justin smiled and leaned back against his husband, reveling in that little glow that washed over him every time Brian made these little declarations. He traced his fingers over Brian's thigh, doodling random shapes and words into it.

"You know," Justin said thoughtfully, as he swung around and straddled his husband's thighs, pinning him to the couch without much effort. Although he'd lost all interest in the magazine, as there were far more interesting things to pay attention to; like the very hard dick pressing into Justin's ass, he did want to address the matter of the name. "We should each take some time and write down some of the names we like; then see how they match up, and what are names we both can live with."

Brian's breathing hitched as Justin slowly kissed a hot trail up his neck, loving the way Brian shuddered beneath him. He might not be up for a quick fuck, but there were other things they could do to take care of Brian's not-so-little problem. He licked Brian's lower lip begging for entrance.

"Sounds like a plan, Sunshine," Brian murmured against his lips, his eyes hot as he cinched his arms tightly around Justin's waist, crushing him against his body. "In the meantime, I need to take a shower, and am in desperate need of someone to scrub my back; any takers?"

"I can do that," Justin murmured, squeaking when Brian growled and clambered off the couch, his arms still tightly wrapped around him. Brian palmed his ass as he swiftly headed down the hall towards their bedroom, their lips sealed tightly together as Brian drank him down like a man dying of thirst.

Yeah, he could definitely do that.


	32. January 31

**January 31**

Brian closed the suitcase with a snap and hauled it down the stairs and out the front door to hand off to John, who grabbed it and took it over to the SUV to be packed with the other bags. Rubbing his hands together to stave off the crisp, chilly morning air, Brian took a deep breath, gearing himself up for the unpleasant task set before him.

Waking Justin up at a normal hour before he was ready to get up was an aggravating undertaking all by itself; getting him out of bed at six in the morning, after only five hours of sleep, on cold as shit morning? That was the stuff nightmares were made of and a disaster just waiting to happen. But he’d let the little twat sleep as late as he could, and if they didn’t get going now, they would end up stuck in traffic and the drive would take much longer than it should.

Exhaling forcefully, his breath billowing out in a cloud of frozen vapor, Brian turned on his heel and went back into the house. Walking through the door, he smiled when Anna came out of the kitchen with a travel mug of coffee and small cooler with water and snacks just in case Justin was actually coherent enough on the trip to want them.

Something that Brian doubted, but better to be prepared than have Justin bitching the entire way that he was hungry.

“Going to wake the beast?” Anna asked, amusement dancing in her eyes as she passed him, heading to put both items into the SUV for Brian.

“Yup,” Brian snickered, heading for the stairs. “Wish me luck; God knows I’ll need it if I want to make it out the beast’s lair intact.”

“It will be worth it,” Anna said as she walked out the door. “Once he sees where you’re going, he won’t care that you’re waking him up before dawn.”

“Here’s hoping,” Brian muttered to himself, taking the stairs two at a time.

Brian strode through the bedroom door and walked over to his husband; Justin was curled up into a little ball under the blankets, with nothing more than a few tufts of blond hair poking out from beneath them. Exactly as Brian had left him when the alarm went off this morning and he’d crawled out of bed to shower and finish up some last minute packing.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Brian ran his hand through those few tufts of hair, smirking when Justin grumbled and shrank further into the blankets, trying to get away from whatever was touching him. Gripping the comforter, Brian pulled it away from Justin’s face, chuckling when Justin just buried his face into his pillow instead.

A morning person, Justin was not.

“Come on, Sunshine,” Brian murmured as he leaned down and pressed a kiss to the back of Justin’s ear. Justin whined, and seemed torn between keeping his face buried in the pillow and chasing Brian’s lips as he pulled away. “Rise and shine; it’s time to get up. We have things to do.”

“Brian,” Justin whispered hoarsely, his voice lilting upwards at the end in a question. Brian trailed kisses along his jaw and neck, further tempting Justin from his little nest of blankets. Justin opened his eyes and blinked several times before squinting at the clock by the bed. “What? It’s six in the morning; what’s going on?”

“You need to get up and shower,” Brian said, tugging at the blankets and huffing when Justin tugged back, keeping them curled under his chin. “We have places to be.”

“But…” Justin trailed off and frowned, and Brian could see his mind sluggishly working as he tried to remember why he had to be up.

Not that it would make one bit of difference, since Brian hadn’t told him about their plans for the day, or the rest of the weekend for that matter.

“Hop to it, Sunshine,” Brian said, yanking the blankets from his hands, and pulling them off his body. Justin hissed and glared at him, instantly curling in on himself against the chill of the room. “We need to be on the road in thirty minutes; you can sleep in the car.” Brian got up and cast a warning look over his shoulder. “Don’t make me pick you and throw you into the shower myself; I guarantee you won’t like the results.”

Justin cursed under his breath, but got up nonetheless and stomped over to the bathroom, slamming the door in his wake. Brian just snickered and headed back down the stairs for a final cup of coffee before getting on their way.

**… … … … …**

Brian pulled up the driveway to the Inn and turned the engine off; he looked at the building with a critical eye and could see why it had gained its popularity. It was a white on white, large, clapboard house that butted right up against Lake Erie, made all the more picturesque by the by the surrounding snow. It was quaint and cute and charming and really everything that would normally send Brian running for the hills, screaming at the top of his lungs the entire way.

But it was a client; so there would be no running from his fate. Plus, Justin would adore it.

Glancing over at his husband, he smiled to see Justin was still out cold, having lowered his seat as far as it would go and curling his body away from Brian the minute he’d gotten into the SUV. Running his hand over Justin’s hair, he barely held back a laugh as he remembered his husband, flouncing down the stairs like a wet, disgruntled kitten. He hadn’t said more than two words to Brian since getting up and immediately fell asleep as soon as the heater flipped on and the car started moving.

It had been for the best anyways; the drive, normally about two hours long, stretched out to two and a half as they’d hit some commute traffic as they made their way out of Pittsburgh. And if there was anything Justin hated more than being woken up before he was ready, it was sitting in traffic. This way, he didn’t have to listen to Justin bitch or nag him with a hundred questions about where they were going.

Leaning over, he pressed his lips to Justin’s cheek, smirking when Justin hummed and turned his head, nuzzling the tip of his nose against Brian’s jaw.

“Time to wake up, Sunshine,” Brian said, kissing the tip of his nose, which scrunched with disapproval, but hazy blue eyes blinked open nonetheless.

Rubbing his eyes, Justin sat up and then frowned, his eyes widening as he studied the snow-covered house and grounds in front of them. He turned to Brian, an adorably confused look on his face. “Brian…what’s going on? Where are we?”

“Geneva-on-the-Lake, Ohio,” Brian said as Justin turned at studied the inn one more time. “Or, more specifically, [The Lakehouse Inn](https://imgur.com/ltPCP44); one of our newest clients a la Cynthia. Come on.” Brian opened the door and stepped out, shivering as the cold air hit; he waited until Justin followed suit and held out his hand. Justin stared at him suspiciously for a moment before taking it. “She stayed up here a few weekends ago with her newest boy toy and did an impromptu pitch to the owners.”

“Okay,” Justin said slowly, still visibly confused and suspicious. “But that doesn’t really answer my question; what are _we_ doing here?”

“Well, I’ve been in contact with them to finalize the details,” Brian said, tugging on Justin’s hand and practically pulling him up the drive with him; he wanted to look around a bit and get a feel for the place before meeting with the Cutlers. “And they recently got a cancellation on one of their suites for this weekend. So, they contacted me, and invited us to spend the weekend here.”

“What?” Justin stared at him, his mouth agape.

His surprise was fully justified in this case, as this had always been one of those things that Brian had refused to do. Hit up a ritzy hotel with all the amenities in some hot, swank tropical location? Yes. Spend a weekend at a quaint bed and breakfast on the lakeside in the middle of winter? No.

“It will be a working weekend of sorts,” Brian barreled on in an effort to cut off any questions he didn’t really want to answer. “I have a lunch meeting with the owners today, along with Cynthia, Devon, one of our lawyerws, and you, if you want to join us, to go over the contracts. But, after that I will be free and I thought that we could spend some time here, just the two of us, while we still have the time and opportunity.”

“Brian…” Justin said in hushed tone, before trailing off to look around, his lips still parted in surprise as he stared at one of the [cottages](https://imgur.com/20PA1kC) in the distance. “You…”

“We could start with dinner tonight at the Inn’s restaurant, the [Crosswinds Grille](http://www.crosswindsgrille.com%E2%80%9D),” Brian said, pointing out the restaurant to Justin, who still looked like landed fish. “And have a night in, where we could make use of the [two-person Jacuzzi tub](https://imgur.com/N9NYD0K), after which I will rub you down with spa care products they’ve promised me. And then, once I have you all limbered up, I’ll fuck you all night long.”

“Brian…” Justin said, gasping as they came to the end of a walk way and looked out into the [patio area](https://imgur.com/Binze8V) behind the inn.

And it was lovely, and dare he say it, a bit romantic, covered with the snow; He could just imagine it in summer, the sun glinting off the water as people sat, drinking wine from the inn’s winery and watching the sunset; and fuck, he was turning into a fucking lesbian. Turning back to Justin, he took his hand and led him back towards the front of the inn.

“And then tomorrow, they are having some sort of festival,” Brian said, smirking when Justin looked up at him with wide blue eyes. “It’s a pretty big deal here; but after we sleep in, we can either go to the restaurant again as breakfast is provided with the room package there, or we can go to the pancake breakfast at the Methodist Church, if you insist. And before you ask, yes, we can go to the parade.”

Justin grinned, that big sunshine grin, and was practically dancing in place at Brian’s side as he filled him in on the Geneva Winterfest; just as he did when Brian had told him that he wanted to Vermont for a week when his was just a teenager.

“And then they have several different things that we could do,” Brian said as they got back to the SUV and he opened the trunk to get take out his briefcase and Justin’s messenger bag. “There’s a chili cook off that provides free chili and cornbread muffins.” Brian paused and snickered when just made a happy noise. “Yeah, I thought you’d like that. And there is a Lego Build Off, ice carving, a cookie decorating contest, a snow mobile show and carriage rides, all going on at the same time. The Legos are provided and the other events are free.”

Justin just hugged himself, his eyes sparkling with excitement. He grabbed his messenger bag and tucked his arm into Brian’s as he closed the hatch.

“Or, if you prefer something indoors,” Brian said, leading them up to the front porch to let the Cutlers they were here. “I know you can’t drink, but one of the local wineries is doing wine tasting and live music. And at the end of the night, there is supposed to be a spaghetti dinner, which thankfully starts at four and ends at eight, so the no carbs rule won't be in affect.”

“Brian,” Justin asked, practically jumping in place. “Are you serious?”

“Yup,” Brian nodded pausing on the [porch](https://imgur.com/7PLbqDD) and looking out; Justin stopped at his side, practically vibrating with happiness. “And there is more. On Sunday, I thought we’d go to Geneva State Park and do a little snow shoeing, followed up by lunch at Horizons Restaurant and Lounge; and then, I have a surprise for you.”

“What…” Justin immediately asked, but Brian cut the question off before it could form; he did know his husband after all.

“Not telling,” Brian said, shaking his head at Justin’s pleading look. “The point to a surprise means not knowing about it beforehand, Sunshine.” Brian smirked, tongue in cheek when Justin pouted. “And pouting won’t get you what you want in this case; you’ll just have to wait and see.”

Justin looked around at the Inn’s surroundings and heaved a sigh, but nodded his acquiescence.

“So, what do you say, Sunshine?” Brian said, wrapping his arms around his husband. “Think you can put up with me – and _only_ me, as no one has any idea where we are other than Cynthia and Devon, and they won’t tell if they want to keep their jobs – for the whole weekend?”

“Yes!” Justin exclaimed, his cheeks flushed and eyes bright with joy as he wrapped his arms around Brian’s neck and peppered his face with kisses. “Oh my God, Brian! I can’t believe you…you are the best husband ever!”

“Good,” Brian smiled; dropping a kiss on Justin’s upturned mouth. “Because there was no way in hell I was driving back home anyways. Now let’s get checked in so we can go feed that beast growling in your stomach.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no idea who owns The Lakehouse Inn; Cutler was just the first name that popped in my head and I went with it.


	33. February 1 (Part One)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I'm not too happy with this chapter. I had a hard time getting into the right mindset for it, so I'm hoping it isn't to disjointed.

**February 1 (Part One)**

He couldn't believe it. When he'd first seen them sitting in Crosswinds Grille, he'd thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. Again. That he was seeing things and that his love would vanish into thin air as he'd done so many times before, becoming some other blond that wasn't nearly as comely as his. After all, this isn't the sort of place that he would expect to find the two of them. Oh, his little blond would surely eat all of this shit up; he'd always been a romantic at heart. But the dickhead, well; he'd said multiple times he'd never be caught dead staying in a bed and breakfast or doing any of this romantic claptrap.

Which he'd once thought would play in his favor. This difference in romantic expectations had split them up before; he'd been hoping that something similar would do so again, because his blond could never resist the pull of romance for long. But it seemed like the asshole had learned from his past mistakes as the proof stood before him.

His beautiful love stood on the sidewalk across the street, a streetlamp illuminating his face and hair, giving him an ethereal glow, and leaving _him_ utterly breathless in its wake. It had always been this way; at least for him. He'd recalled the first time he'd seen his beauty; the rapt expression on his face as he stared up at the stage, completely entranced by what he was hearing and seeing.

The way his lips parted, as if he were trying to, but couldn't quite catch his breath, his eyes shining with wonder. He'd made such a beautiful sight, and it had taken every drop of discipline in him not to disrupt the performance by going up to him and pressing his lips to that sweet, parted mouth, kissing him senseless.

But there had been too many people watching; and he hadn't wanted to share that moment with anyone, but his love. That should, and would, be a pleasure for him and him alone. So, he'd managed, just barely, to control himself with the intention of approaching him at a later date and making his bid for affection well known.

he wasn't worried. He knew that he'd win his beauty over. He'd never doubted his powers of persuasion in that moment. After all, he'd won over anyone he'd made a play for previously; no one could resist him for long. He hadn't felt one doubt that his love would follow suit. Who wouldn't want to be with him after all? He was charming, handsome, and talented; and he knew how to do and say all the right things.

Why wouldn't his little beauty fall into his waiting arms? Especially as he'd been so confused and alone at the time.

Except; just as soon as he'd had his love almost snared, he'd made a pivotal mistake in handling him. One that had cost him everything, allowing that bastard to sweep right in, turn his love's head and claim him for his own.

Staring at his love, he scowled as he watched the bastard wrap his arms around him, and press his lips to his love's, tasting him as _he_ yearned to do so. Didn't he realize that he was only a placeholder? Someone to pass the time with because it wasn't the right time for them. That his love would leave the bastard just as soon as _he'd_ gotten rid of his attachments, because _they_ were the ones that were meant to be together? That they were connected and it was only a matter of time before his love came home to him? How could he not see it?

It was so obvious that his love felt the connection too; after all, why else would he have traveled here, of all places? A place that meant so much to _him_ ; a place that was an intrinsic part of his past. He was certain that his love remembered that, and that his love felt the same ties of fate that _he_ had the moment they met. This was a little, picturesque, out-of-the-way town that was miles from everything they knew and held no significance to his love or the asshole, so why else would he be here if it wasn't to find _him_?

Plus, he'd seen the way his love kept looking for him all day as he'd followed them from event to event. The way he'd stop for a moment, his bright blue eyes sweeping the crowd, looking for something, looking for _him._ It had made his heart flutter and his blood rush, and he could just imagine their sweet reunion when it had happened. There had even been one time when Kinney had gone to the bathroom at Lusia's, that his love had looked straight at him, making him feel alive and like his life meant something again.

He'd been so tempted to go up to him then. To tell him that he felt it too and he was sorry for all the pain he'd caused in that past, but he was ready to treat him like the prince that he was meant to be. He'd even gulped down a couple of shots of tequila for a bit of liquid courage; but just as he'd gathered enough of said courage to approach his love, the bastard had come back from the bathroom and whisked him away.

Likely because he was worried that they would connect; but he couldn't stop it from happening. His love knew he was there; he had seen the way he hesitated and tried to wait for him to catch up numerous times, only to be thwarted and dragged away by Kinney.

It was only a matter of time and place.

Inhaling deeply, he closed his eyes and thought back to that morning. God, being near him had been blissful and heartbreaking at the same time. To have him so near, close enough to touch, but hindered because of a jealous asshole – it was a sweet torture. One he'd gladly suffer just to bask in his presence.

He remembered catching up with them at the parade this afternoon, once again delighted that he wasn't imaging things when he'd heard his laugh in the restaurant, followed by a flash of bright blond hair as he and the asshole were leaving. He'd even managed to get close enough at the parade to feel his heat, to hear his soft happy sighs, to smell his soap and shampoo. God, he'd smelled amazing – a mixture of citrus and sandalwood and almonds – just as he had when they'd first met.

He'd been so beautiful standing there, the sun hitting his hair and gilding it. And _he'd_ wanted so much to lean into him then and there; to announce his presence, wrap his arms around him, to breathe him in, to kiss the soft pink lips that should belong to him. To claim him for his own; but he erred on the side of discretion, knowing that it wasn't the right time for them yet and that his love would arrange the perfect opportunity for them to meet before leaving here this weekend.

A meeting that was soon to take place based on his longer and lingering looks.

Opening his eyes, he watched as his love looked over at him one final time, just as Kinney walked into Pucker Up Candy Shoppe. Heart hammering in his chest, he licked his lips and knew that it was a sign. He could feel it, knew through their connection that his love was telling him it was safe to come to him, that he was waiting for him.

Finally, finally, they could be together.

Taking a deep breath, he stepped off the curb, waiting for a solitary car to pass before it was safe to cross and then quickly made his way across the street. His love had looked away in the meantime, but that didn't worry him any. He was certain he was just playing it cool so that Kinney wouldn't become suspicious. He just walked quicker, and soon he was nearly there, but then that asshole ruined it all!

**… … … … …**

Justin yawned and propped his back against the streetlamp, tired after a long day of running around the festival. He grinned to himself, still having a hard time believing that Brian had put this all together. Oh, he knew that Brian would deny it. That he'd tell Justin it was only good business to come up and explore the area so he had a better idea of how and to whom to market the inn. But he knew better.

His husband had turned into a bit of a closet romantic; though he'd never admit to it himself.

Sweeping his eyes over the street, he'd already fallen in love with the town and hoped that they could come back in the summer. Although, with Sunbeam due in June, it wasn't likely; they'd be far too busy trying find time to merely sleep to even think of getting away for a weekend. But maybe the following summer. Sunbeam would a year old then and he'd either feel better about leaving for a couple of days, or they could bring her with them.

Looking over his shoulder, he smirked to see Brian at the check out counter waiting for the clerk to finish helping the person in front of him. He would have gone in with Brian, but he was having far too much fun people watching; he had all these ideas he wanted to put down in his sketchpad once they got back to the room.

Turning back to the street, Justin's eyes lingered just a moment on a man that was standing across the street looking over at the candy shop. He frowned; there was something familiar about the person, but he couldn't put his finger on why. Maybe it was his build, or the way he stood, or something about his eyes, but he'd swear that he knew him. He couldn't place why as the other person was covered near head to toe with only a small part of his face visible. In fact, the only reason he could tell it was a man at all was the clothing was very masculine, the way he held himself, and most telling, when his scarf moved once, he could see the hint of an Adam's apple.

The man looked this way, seeming to contemplate on whether or not to go to the store; and then he was crossing the street, so Justin guessed he'd made up his mind. Losing interest, he turned back to the shop and he smiled when Brian picked up his bag, said something to the clerk and then walked out of the shop. Smirking, Brian walked up to him and handed Justin the bag without a word spoken between them.

"What is this?" Justin asked, a bit puzzled as Brian hadn't told him why he'd wanted to go into a candy shop in the first place.

"Open the bag and find out," Brian smiled, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

"Brian…" Justin said, and then huffed when Brian just gestured to the bag; and then he grinned as he started to dig through the contents and found some of his favorite candies; including salt water taffy and several chocolaty things that made his mouth water.

"Those are mine," Brian said, as Justin picked up a bag of dark-chocolate-covered coffee beans; and then grabbed them and stuffed the bag in his pocket. Justin frowned at the loss. "Pouting won't get you anywhere, Sunshine. There is plenty of other shit in there, including those stupid Jelly Belly's that you like so much. I also got you some rocky road, chocolate-covered raisins, and peanut butter cups too."

"What's the occasion?" Justin asked, bouncing on his toes as he went through his goodies, and silently damning the fact that he ate so much that he couldn't even enjoy it at the moment.

"I thought I'd grab you a snack or two for later," Brian shrugged, chuckling when Justin squealed with excitement as he found a pint container of Velvet Fresh Strawberry ice cream and another of Raspberry Fudge Cordial.

"Oh God, and I am so stuffed," Justin whined, desperately wanting to dig into the strawberry ice cream now, but knowing there was no way he could eat even a bite. "I guess, I'll just have to save these for later."

"I would hope so," Brian snorted; he wrapped an arm around Justin's shoulders and began herding him down the street. "Considering you've eaten pretty much nonstop all day. Between the Baked Cinnamon Brioche French Toast breakfast with bacon, an oatmeal parfait, and both yours and _my_ home fries _and_ the chili and muffins at the cook off, _and_ the hot dog you just had to have _and_ the nachos you had at Lusia's _and_ the spaghetti, I'm surprised I'm not rolling you down the street."

"Fuck off," Justin said without heat, sticking his tongue out at his husband for good measure. "It's not my fault that Sunbeam has as voracious an appetite as I do. Mom said that she was the same way when she was pregnant with me."

"Great," Brian grumbled and shook his head. "Another kid to eat me out of house and home." Justin squawked at that description and elbowed him. "Ow! You and your fucking pointy, little elbows are a menace. Behave, Sunshine; or I might just rescind on your surprise tomorrow."

"No you won't," Justin said confidently; he knew that Brian would never go back on his word no matter how annoyed he might be. Plus, Justin knew just how to talk him around.

"I might," Brian hummed, smirking when Justin just gave him a 'get real' look; and then he smiled and wrapped his arms around Brian's face.

"No you won't, because you are the best husband ever," Justin said, squeezing him around the middle. Brian looked down and arched a brow, making Justin turn serious. "And I couldn't love you more if I tried in this moment. Thank you for planning this trip."

"Don't get moist," Brian groused, huffing when Justin just squeezed him again and buried his face into his chest. "Like I said, it's a working weekend and I figured we might as well take advantage of a free room and all the amenities so that I have a better idea of how to market this place."

"Bullshit," Justin sing-songed, drawing another huff from his husband. He grinned and turned around and walked backwards, poking Brian in the chest. "I am so on to you, Mr. Taylor-Kinney. I know you could have sent any number of your minions to take care of this, but you didn't."

"Yeah, well," Brian said as he rolled his eyes and grabbed Justin's hand, yanking him back into his side. He pressed a kiss to the top of Justin's head. "Gotta keep the husband happy, right? A happy Sunshine means sex on a regular basis; thus leading to a happy Brian. Win-win in my eyes."

"You're so full of it," Justin snorted, snuggling up under his arm and teasing him as he did when he was teenager. "And you soooooooo adore me."

"Yeah, I do." Brian said, rolling his lips between his teeth. Justin beamed, and ignored when Brian rolled his eyes again. "So, I was thinking; we should head back to our room and put that tub and bed into good use. And if you're a real good boy, I'll even let you…"

**… … … … …**

He seethed as he watched them walk away, wrapped in each other's arms, the asshole whispering something into his love's ear and ensnaring him once again. It happened every time. Just as his love was starting to break the spell Kinney had woven around him, that asshole would come back and hook him once again.

Well, he was tired of it all; it was time to make his presence known and put Kinney in his place for good.


	34. February 1 (Part Two)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Something a bit more lighthearted for you today after yesterday's nastiness. Saturday from Brian's perspective.

**February 1 (Part Two)**

Brian stirred and blinked against the soft grey light spilling in from the window. He yawned and stretched, and then smiled to find a warm bundle of blond snuggled up to his chest. Turning further on his side, he pressed a kiss on Justin's forehead, closing his eyes as he lingered for a bit. He wasn't surprised to see that Justin was still sleeping as they had a long, active night.

In fact, just thinking of it made his dick twitch with renewed interest.

Pulling Justin against his chest Brian rained kisses down over his cheeks and jawline and neck, all the while rocking his hips up into his husband's. Justin snuffled and buried his face into Brian's chest, and then arched like a cat as Brian ran his hands down his back. Making a little noise in the back of his throat, Justin pulled his face away from Brian's chest and blinked lazily, his eyes still blurry from sleep.

"Good morning, Sunshine," Brian smirked, dropping a kiss on his nose.

"Morning," Justin murmured, his voice sleep rough; he blinked again and yawned, and looked around, likely searching for a clock. "What time is it?"

"Just a bit before nine," Brian said, reading the number off of the clock on the nightstand just over Justin's shoulder. He pressed a soft kiss against Justin's shoulder as Justin groaned and buried his face back into Brian's chest.

"I thought you said we were going to sleep in," Justin whined, but then flopped onto his back as he realized there would be no more sleep that morning.

"This is sleeping in," Brian smirked, leaning over his husband to pepper kisses along his neck and chest, tracing his way down to his nipples.

"Maybe for you," Justin grumbled, and then his breathing hitched as Brian's lips closed over one of his nipples. Justin buried his hand into Brian's hair and sighed, murmuring almost absentmindedly. "But for the rest of us _sane_ people, that definitely means after ten at the very least."

"But if we do that, "Brian said as he pulled off Justin's nipple with a pop to torment the other. Justin squirmed and moaned lowly as Brian teased him, nipping the sensitive bud with his teeth. He then crawled his way back up and dropped a quick kiss on perfect pink lips. "We'll never get the chance to do everything you want today."

"I hate when you make sense," Justin complained, his hands coming to rest on the small of Brian's back as he once again leaned over his husband.

"So, have you had a chance to think about what you want to do today?" Brian asked, running his hands through Justin's hair, marveling at how silky it felt against his fingers; even softer than it usually was.

"Well, I definitely want to see the parade," Justin said, a thoughtful look on his face as he looked over Brian's shoulder. Brian rolled his eyes. "I know, I know; it's silly, as I don't even live here or know any of the participants, but it just seems like the best way to set the mood for the day."

"I already said we can see the parade, Sunshine," Brian said dryly, a small smile curling at the corner of his mouth as Justin wriggled a little in excitement.

"And then of course, I want to hit the chili cook off," Justin said, his eyes sparkling; likely because he was imagining all the good food he was going to eat today.

"Of course," Brian snorted, rolling his lips between his teeth to hold back a full on laugh at that pronouncement. Like he expected otherwise. "No surprise there."

"And then, maybe a carriage ride?" Justin said, his tone lilting at the end to form more of a question than a statement.

"We could do that," Brian nodded; and really, he couldn't imagine a much more fun way to spend time with Justin, snuggled under a blanket and kissing. And maybe he could even talk him into something a bit more fun. "It will give you a chance to be off your feet."

"And then I'm torn between the Lego Build Off and the ice carving," Justin said, chewing on his bottom lip. "Both sound like a lot of fun."

"I think the Lego thing is mainly for kids, Sunshine," Brian said gently, having heard about the event from the Cutlers. "Although, I could be wrong; besides, it's hardly fair for them to go up against an artist of your caliber."

"Yeah," Justin said just a bit sadly; but he quickly perked up. "So maybe we could watch the ice carving and I can talk to a few of the artists about their techniques."

"Sure," Brian said, trying desperately not to shake his head at his husband's antics, before putting in his own two cents for the day. "And then we can go sit at Luisa's; there will be live music and we can have a rest and warm up. Maybe grab some of that free hot chocolate for you."

"Followed by the spaghetti dinner?" Justin said hopefully, wiggling in excitement once more and he licked his lips.

"If we must," Brian said, rolling his eyes again; Justin's appetite was going to be the death of him. And then he yelped as Justin swatted him on the arm.

"Yes, we must," Justin insisted, his face set into a stubborn frown.

"Carbs, Sunshine," Brian complained halfheartedly, but knew full well that he'd never win this argument and that they would be first waiting in line when it came to that damned dinner if Justin had any say in it. "You're going to kill me with all those carbs."

"But then, we could come back here and I'll help you work off all those carbs," Justin smirked, sliding his hand down and around to cup Brian's dick.

And well, put like that, who the fuck was he to complain?

"Now that _is_ something I can get into," Brian smirked, grabbing his husband's hands and pressing them into the mattress on either side of his head as he climbed on top of him. "In the meantime, why don't you help me work up an appetite for breakfast?"

**… … … … …**

Brian huffed out a sigh, stamping his feet to hopefully get some feeling back into them after standing for the last hour watching a parade that, frankly, he didn't give two shits about. If it wasn't for loving the adorable twat at his side, he would have happily skipped it and sat his ass down in a nice, warm bar and had a drink while Justin watched it.

But, he did love the twat, so here he was, freezing his ass off because they'd been standing in the same place for over an hour to watch a parade that reminded him of every other small town parade in existence. Exciting it was not.

Not that he'd ever say that to his husband; who, for all his thirty years, was watching it and acting more like the teenager he'd first met than an adult; and a pregnant one at that. He was surprised that Justin hadn't even complained about his feet hurting, but he guessed the additional weight hadn't become an issue yet.

Sighing, Brian was thankful to see the end of the parade make its way past them and that the crowd was now breaking up to follow the parade the rest of the way down to mapped route. Thank fucking God; now maybe he could get some circulation back into his extremities.

"Well, there is an hour of my life that I'll never get back," Brian muttered, huffing when Justin turned and glared at him; he swatted Brian on the arm before linking them together.

"Oh, please," Justin smirked as they headed to the Depot Street lot where the chili cook off was being held. Because knowing his husband and his bottomless pit of a stomach, it should be going off, demanding to be fed any time now. "Like I didn't see you smiling through out the whole thing."

"That's because I was watching you, not the parade, Sunshine," Brian said, kissing him on the cheek. And it was true; what he'd enjoyed most about the parade was Justin's reaction to it. "I swear; sometimes you acted like a bigger kid than most of the ones that were there today."

Showing his maturity, Justin stuck out his tongue; and then snuggled deeper into Brian's side as the turned the corner onto Depot Street. Brian couldn't help being thankful that they'd found a place to stand so close to where they needed to be. After Justin lingered over breakfast, he had thought they might have to give the parade a miss; but luck had been on their side. As they were leaving, they'd met up with the Cutlers, who were headed to meet up with their family, and they dragged the two of them along with them.

"I just like parades," Justin said, practically skipping at Brian's side, tugging him along as they caught sight of the gathering crowd all headed in the same direction. "They are such a happy event."

"I know," Brian huffed, but allowed himself to be dragged along because God forbid that Justin miss any of it. "The fact that you've dragged me to the Pride Parade every year since your first would have told me that without you saying a word."

"And now for another happy event," Justin said, rubbing his stomach with his free hand and practically salivating as they reached their destination. He broke away and walked swiftly ahead of Brian to his first vict…err…his first proprietor. "At least for my stomach."

Rolling his eyes, Brian followed in his wake and prayed that the twat wasn't going to be facing a miserable night of heartburn after this.

**… … … … …**

Brian sighed with relief as they sat down in the carriage and covered their legs with the blanket provided by the service. He had just managed to pry Justin away from the Chili Cook Off before he could eat his weight in it and was just happy to be off his feet. When he suggested this outing, he was certain that it would be Justin complaining about needing to sit down, but he'd been a little ball of energy since Brian had managed to pry him from their bed this morning.

Although, he had to admit that the chili’s smelled delicious and there were even a couple that he’d been happy to try himself, including a [White Bean Chicken Chili](https://www.midnightwhispers.net/%E2%80%9Dhttps://www.marthastewart.com/1132338/white-bean-chicken-chili%E2%80%9D) that he loved and surprisingly a [Spiced Apple Chili](https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/spiced-apple-chili%E2%80%9D) with Ground Turkey in it. Both had been really good and he light enough that he’d happily eat them again. Justin on the other hand favored the [Braised Five-Alarm Texas Chili](https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/spiced-apple-chili%E2%80%9D) that Brian just knew was going to give him fits later, but he hadn’t stopped raving about it since.

Until now that is; Justin had gone suspiciously quiet in the past fifteen minutes and it was starting to worry Brian. Not to mention that it made him wonder if he needed to talk his husband into taking a nap. Although, there was also the way Justin had been occasionally scanning the crowds as if looking for something or someone, and occasionally jumping when Brian caught him off guard. He didn't like that one bit.

"Is something wrong, Sunshine," Brian asked, drawing Justin's attention from his mindless staring and bringing it back to him. "You've been a bit jumpy today."

Justin bit his lip and looked at the driver cautiously to see if he was paying any attention to their conversation, but when the driver just continued on his track, Justin turned back to Brian and said in a low voice. "It's weird, but I've just gotten this feeling that someone has been watching us today, _all_ day; but whenever I look, I can't seem to find anything or anyone suspicious."

Brian frowned, but then quickly smoothed his expression; he'd had the same feeling periodically through out the day, but had just attributed it to them being visitors and an openly gay couple. But, if Justin was voicing the same concern, and was worried about it; well, Brian trusted Justin's instincts. He would be sure to keep a closer eye out.

On the other hand, he didn't want Justin to worry about it; the point to this trip was for him to relax after the trying weeks they'd just had.

"Well, we do stand out," Brian said, affecting an unconcerned voice in an attempt to soothe Justin's nerves; adding a little humor to distract him. "First of all, we are utterly gorgeous, so why wouldn't they stare? Plus, this isn't Liberty Avenue where we are just another couple of queers walking around."

"We've never been just a couple of queers walking around," Justin drawled, his tone as dry as the Sahara. "Even down on Liberty."

"Why, Sunshine!" Brian exclaimed in mock horror; looking at Justin as if he'd never seen him before. "I am appalled at your lack of modesty."

"Fuck off," Justin huffed, rolling his eyes at Brian's antics, but a small smile flit over his face, so win for him. "Like I didn't just verbalize what you were already thinking."

"Well," Brian grinned, his tongue tucked firmly in his cheek. Because it _was_ true. "I can't argue with that."

"I do acknowledge and give you some pity points for your failed attempt at modesty, however," Justin said in a mock serious tone, patting Brian on the arm.

"I do so appreciate your benevolence, Sunshine," Brian said with a sarcastic smile; and silently patted himself on the back for successfully distracting Justin from his worries. "I just don't know what I would do without it."

"You'd never survive without me," Justin snorted, a small, affectionate smile on his face.

And wasn't that the truth?

Smirking, Brian flashed a wicked look Justin's way, and Justin instantly looked wary, as he'd come to know that expression all too well over the years. Brian slowly slipped his hand under the blanket and rested it on top of Justin's thigh. Justin's eyes popped open and his mouth dropped as Brian leaned closer and placed a small kiss at the hollow of his ear.

"Point well made," Brian said for his husband's ears only, his hand slowly creeping up Justin's thigh until it reached the crease. "But now that were moving, I have a better idea for what we could be doing."

"Brian…" Justin gasped softly, casting a nervous glance the driver's way as he whispered. "We can't…"

"Sure we can," Brian cut him off, sliding his hand onto his husband's dick and squeezing gently. Justin bit his lip and barely held back a groan as Brian began to stroke him through his pants. "You'll just have to be quiet; and trust me, after all those times I snuck in at Deb's, I know you can be quiet when you need to be."

Justin threw him a heated glance that told him that he was so going to pay for this, but Brian didn't care at the moment. Operation distract the twat was a success.

**… … … … …**

After their little romp in the carriage, Brian had led Justin back to the Inn for a quick change of clothing. He tried to convince Justin to rest for a few minutes before heading back out, but like always after an orgasm, Justin was energetic and raring to go. So, off they went again, this time to the Rotary Pavilion to see the ice carving.

And that's where they'd been for the past hour, Brian waiting off to the side as Justin flit back and forth between the artists, asking questions, watching and basically making an nuisance of himself. Not that the artists seemed to mind; once they'd heard his name, those in the know filled in those who weren't, and the whole lot of them couldn't have been happier to answer his questions.

He was in artistic heaven, and had that look that said he was considering giving the method a try himself for one of his upcoming shows. Brian just pinched the bridge of his nose at that thought, having visions of ice sculptures stored in sub-zero freezers everywhere in Pittsburgh. Hopefully he could talk him down to doing a demonstration instead and then displaying the _single_ large work for however long it would last.

Sighing, Brian watched as Justin flit back to his original victim and, seeing that signs of fatigue creeping into his husband's face, decided enough was enough.

"Okay, that's enough of that," Brian said, swiftly intercepting Justin and pulling him away from the artists, flashing them a smile and waving as he dragged Justin away. "Let the man concentrate on his work, Sunshine. I'm sure he's working on a deadline and needs to concentrate on his entry."

"Oh, sorry," Justin looked over his shoulder sheepishly, waving to the artists as they departed. "I was just…"

"About to turn into a Popsicle," Brian cut him off, heading down West Main to North Broadway where Luisa's Mexican Grill was situated. "Let's find a warm place to sit down, have a warm drink and relax until your spaghetti dinner."

"Well, you did mention that place with the live music," Justin said, furrowing his brow as he tried to recall the name of it. "Luisa's?"

"That's the plan, Sunshine," Brian said as the walked along, his breath coming in short pants. Fuck, he hadn't done this much walking in along time. "Plus, they're doing wine tasting; alcohol is always a bonus."

"Not that it does me any good," Justin groused, pouting a bit. "God, I so miss just having a beer on occasion. Not even getting drunk; just the taste of a good beer or a glass of scotch. And coffee. And soda. And sushi. Sometimes this whole pregnancy thing sucks."

"Only a few more months," Brian soothed, wrapping his arm around his husband and pressing a kiss to his temple.

"Not soon enough," Justin grumbled, but allowed himself to be lead to the restaurant with a minimal of fuss.

**… … … … …**

Brian sat at the table and watched his husband eat with no little amount of awe. If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, Brian would never believe the amount of food this trim man could pack away, pregnant or not. Even as a teenager his appetite had horrified a very food and health conscious Brian. However, he'd consoled himself with the thought that eventually, Justin would have to start watching his food intake in order to keep his trim, twink-like figure.

And while Justin's body had changed as he matured, his chest filling out and his shoulders broadening, much as you'd expect in the change from being a teenager to entering adulthood. But that fabled moment where Justin would actually have to watch what he ate never came. It was galling sometimes, watching his husband put away a meal that could feed two to three people easily and not gain one ounce.

Take for instance now; he had just finished a plate of nachos not even an hour and a half ago at Luisa's and he was still packing away the spaghetti as if he hadn't eaten all day. Brian, who hadn't eaten afar less that day, couldn't even finish his one plate. Shaking his head, Brian watched as Justin slurped yet another noodle into his mouth and the rubbed his hand over his face with a sigh.

"What?" Justin asked, nonplussed.

"Just trying to figure out where the hell you're putting all of that," Brian groused, eyeing Justin's plate with disgust. "Your appetite never ceases to amaze me."

"Hey, eating for two here," Justin said a little defensively, cradling his plate like he expected Brian to take it from him; but that would never happen. Brian had learned a long time ago not to take food from Justin. well, except for the Twinkies; but there was a perfectly good reason for that. "Plus, Liz said at our last visit that I'm expected to gain a certain amount of weight before the next visit. It's not my fault that I have a high metabolism and can eat my weight in food."

"Well, at least you aren't doctoring it with, I don't know," Brian scrunched his nose, and tried to find some vile food example, but couldn't find anything. So, he settled for something much more tame. "Vanilla pudding or something equally as ridiculous."

"Oh!" Justin rounded his mouth and widened his eyes at the thought; and Brian just couldn't do it, and immediately put his foot down. "That would be…"

"No." Brian said with an implacable frown. "Just no.

"You're no fun," Justin muttered, a small pout on his mouth.

"Not what you said last night," Brian smirked, his eyes lighting with mischief as he ran them over his husband's body, his mind turning to much more fun things now that the day was over. "Now hurry up and finish that and I'll show you just how much fun I can be."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Alternate Ending:**
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> Silence passed between them for a long, drawn out moment as Brian stared of into the distance, waiting for Justin to finish his plate of food. He was tired and he really couldn't wait until they got back to the room; he was really looking forward to another soak in the Jacuzzi tub and then maybe giving and getting a rubdown with the leftover spa items from their gift basket.
> 
> Sighing, he glanced over at Justin and frowned when he saw that Justin seemed to be staring blankly at the table. Arching a brow, he opened his mouth to ask if there was a problem, only to shut it as Justin asked out of the blue.
> 
> "Are you going to finish that?" He pointed to Brian's half-finished plate of spaghetti.
> 
> Brian rolled his eyes, but shoved the plate over at Justin, shaking his head in despair. Honestly, he'd be so glad when this pregnancy shit was over with.


	35. February 2 (Part One)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My sincere apologies for getting this update out so late; it's been a really busy day between grocery shopping, cooking and prepping for the Superbowl madness tomorrow. I haven't had much time to write until now.

**February 2 (Part One)**

“God, this was the best idea ever,” Justin sighed, happily wiggling his toes in the warm foot soak liberally laced with agave oil. It was the perfect end to a long, tiring, but ultimately relaxing and fun weekend. He’d really needed this after the stressful weeks that they'd had.

“So, a good surprise then?" Brian smirked, tucking his tongue firmly into his cheek as he looked over at Justin, his feet in a similar bath.

“The best,” Justin smiled, his eyes sparkling as he watched the attendant prepare the sugar scrub for their feet.  “I haven’t had a facial or a mani-pedi in forever. It’s especially welcome after all the walking we did yesterday and today.”

He looked down at his hands a bit ruefully, wishing that his poor nails would last out the week, but knew that it was highly unlikely. Between sketching, and painting Sunbeam’s room, and then working on his show pieces... well, his nails never stayed this nice. However, the hand massage and soak had really felt good. Especially given that it had been so cold, and his hands had gotten so dried and cracked in spite of his gloves.

“I told you we could have skipped today,” Brian said, flinching a bit as the attendant pulled his foot out of the bath and dried it off, before setting it down on a towel and then repeating the action with the other. “I’m sure we could have found something to do…”

Brian arched a brow and smirked, his eyes dancing wickedly as he turned them back to Justin. As if Justin couldn’t figure out exactly what he meant by that. Shaking his head at his husband, Justin shifted in his seat, drawing an equally wicked grin from Brian, as he knew exactly why Justin was shifting in his seat; as well he should since he was the cause of it.

“No,”Justin huffed, biting his lower lip to hold back a giggle as the attendant began to scrub his feet, inadvertently tickling him. “I definitely wanted to do that today. I’m really happy with the pictures I got of the park; I might use them for a winter-themed abstract landscape show at a later date. But it is nice to soak my feet after all that standing and walking around.”

“So, it would be a good thing that I also booked a couple’s massage then, wouldn’t it?” Brian asked, rolling his lips under as he stared at Justin from beneath his lashes.

“You what?” Justin asked, not certain that he’d heard that correctly; it was so out of character for his husband, who typically eschewed all things even remotely romantic. In fact, this entire weekend had been completely unlike him; not that Justin was complaining. Far from it, but he did have to wonder the why of it.

“You heard me,” Brian huffed, shifting uncomfortably in his seat and looking away.

“Brian…” Justin said softly, watching his husband with misty eyes; cursing that the fucking hormones running through his veins were making his eyes tear up yet again. He really couldn’t wait until this part was over, as he’d never been one for excessive tears. “I can’t believe that you would…”

“Don’t get moist,” Brian rolled his eyes before shooting him a warning look. “And I swear, if you ever mention this to anyone, I will twist your balls into a knot. Just enjoy it.”

Justin bit his lip, fighting back a ‘sunshine smile’ as Brian called it, and dropped the subject, not wanting to put Brian on the spot for his uncharacteristic romanticism. But secretly he was thrilled. This had definitely been one of the best trips they’d ever made and today in particular had stood out, starting with this morning.

 

_Justin stirred, yawning and rubbing his face into his pillow; he stretched and then frowned as his hand met cold sheets. This wasn’t an unusual thing when they were at home; Brian was often up and out of the house long before Justin stirred in their bed. But he was a bit surprised that Brian wasn’t still sleeping after the day and night they’d had.”_

_Smirking, Justin flopped on his back and closed his eyes, vividly recalling dessert last night - Brian draped across a thick bath sheet on the bed, naked as the day he was born, and adorned with a smorgasbord of treats. But the best had been the strawberry ice cream that Justin had dribbled on and lapped from his skin._

_It was the best way to eat ice cream._

_Stretching, Justin was contemplating getting up and using the restroom before trying to track his wayward husband down, when he heard a loud slam of the door. Startled, Justin sat up straight in the bed and pulled the covers up to his chest just in case it was a maid coming in to clean the room. He didn’t think it could be, as they were checking out today, but you never know. Stranger things have happened._

_Justin paused and furrowed his brow as he heard drawers and doors open and close and general banging about in the other room. There was a clink of plates and cutlery, which surprised him, as he didn’t recall anything other than cups in the kitchenette. Of course, he hadn’t really explored beyond that either; once he’d found the coffee and the cups, he’d been happy and didn’t need anything else._

_“Brian?” Justin called out, his back growing tense when there was no answer; but he had absolutely no intentions of going out there until he was certain he knew who was in the other room. Not after the way he’d felt watched all day yesterday, no matter what reassurances Brian tried to make. “Brian, are you out there?”_

_Biting his lip, Justin scooted towards the edge of the bed, readying himself to flee or, at the very least, put some space between him and the other person if necessary. He tensed as he heard footsteps walk his way, and then sagged with relief when the door swung open and a familiar face came into view._

_”Good morning, Sunshine,” Brian greeted, a tray in his hands._

_“Asshole,“ Justin muttered softly, huffing as he flopped back onto the bed, his muscles still coiled and ready for flight despite not needing it. Brian arched a brow, but didn’t say anything as he set the tray on the bedside table, and straightened up to take his gloves and coat off. “You’re dressed?”_

_“Went to get breakfast,” Brian said, peeling off his layers until he was just in a long-sleeved knit shirt and a pair of well worn jeans that fit him like a glove._

_Justin tilted his head to the side for a better view and couldn’t help but admire the way they fit as he bent over. His husband had always been a gorgeous man._

_“I thought you might enjoy eating here instead of the restaurant today,” Brian said as he stood up once more, a smirk on his lips as he knew just what Justin had been doing._

_Justin stuck his tongue out at him and crawled up the bed to lean his back against the board, letting the sheets pool in his lap. And then it was Brian’s turn to admire him as the draped sheets accented his interest. Brian licked his lips and met Justin’s eyes, his fairly smoldering with lust._

_“You thought right,” Justin grinned, stretching his arms above his head and clasping the headboard as he spread his legs in invitation. “You going to join me?”_

_“Thought you’d never ask, Sunshine,” Brian grinning, shucking his clothing as fast as he could and diving back into bed with Justin._

 

Sadly, their actual breakfast had gotten cold before they'd gotten around to eating it, but that was what microwaves were for; and it took no time at all for it to heat up and for them to eat before starting the rest of their day. Which had been fun, if a bit tiring.

“What’s that smile for, Sunshine?” Brian whispered against his ear, sending a shiver tripping down his spine.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Justin whispered back, his eyes dancing with mischief as he looked at his husband from beneath his lashes.

“Oh, I would indeed,” Brian said, pressing a small kiss to the hollow of his ear. “I do wonder if I could convince the masseuse to step out for a few moments while I persuade you to tell me what I want to know.”

Justin bit his lip to keep from groaning at the thought of Brian’s persuasion techniques, and then shook his head in exasperation.

“Like you haven’t already guessed,” Justin said with a knowing look.

“Maybe,” Brian said, resting his hand on Justin’s thigh; a bit to high to be polite. Justin bit down harder on his lip as Brian’s fingers traced small designs on the inside of his thigh, making Justin hard as a rock. Asshole. “But I do so enjoy hearing it from your lips; plus, you need to make up for denying me my treat earlier.”

Justin hissed, his cheeks coloring at the reminder, but thankfully the technician had moved away before Brian had said anything otherwise he would have kicked his ass once they were alone. Justin squirmed, scowling when Brian just chuckled and sat back thoroughly pleased with himself, making Justin wish he’d just given in earlier.

 

_”This is much harder than I thought it would be,” Justin puffed, his feet feeling heavier than normal as they walked down the trail together._

_On the other hand, the[trees](https://imgur.com/ttX1oGR) and [cabins](https://imgur.com/ILDHlSs) covered with snow were breathtaking and had given him all sorts of ideas that he needed to [put to canvas](https://imgur.com/c2VHRsA) when he had the chance. Likely after Sunbeam was born however, as he wanted to do these in oils; luckily, he’d thought to bring his digital camera and had gotten some [great shots](https://imgur.com/y29DNzS)._

_“I tried to warn you, Sunshine,” Brian huffed as they trudged down the trail. “But you were dead set on going. Maybe next time you’ll listen to me.”_

_“Doubtful,” Justin smirked, dodging when Brian tossed a handful of snow at him._

_“Somehow, that doesn’t surprise me in the least,” Brian snorted, walking ahead of Justin, prompting him to take a photo of him. Brian rolled his eyes and turned away. “I gave up on trying to tell you what do a long time ago.”_

_“Does this mean you’ll stop trying to throw away my Twinkies?” Justin asked, tucking his camera back into his pocket._

_“No,” Brian said in an implacable tone, giving Justin the hairy eyeball. “The Twinkies do not count in this scenario as you know damned well that they are bad for you. I don’t even know how you can eat those things.”_

_“That’s because all of your taste buds died in a mass protest years ago,” Justin blithely explained, pursing his lips in distaste. “I mean, dry turkey sandwiches? Salad with no dressing? Plain chicken breasts with a plain baked potato? I’d rather eat cardboard.”_

_“You probably **would** eat cardboard if it were edible,” Brian said, laughing and dodging as Justin dipped down and scooped up a handful of snow and threw it at him._

_“Whatever,” Justin huffed, regretting the move now as it seemed to shorten his breath further. He really hadn’t thought this snowshoeing thing through.  “You know I’m right.”_

_“I know that you **think** you’re right,” Brian snickered, waiting for him at the end of a row of trees. “It’s not nearly the same thing.”_

_“How much further do we have to go?” Justin whined, and then grimaced because that was far too Michael-like for his liking._

_“About another mile, Sunshine,” Brian smirked, but then nodded to the right when Justin grimaced again. “But, hey, we can find a place to rest for a bit if you need to. I was thinking maybe[over there](https://imgur.com/EjZ1jzv).”_

_“There’s nowhere to sit, Brian,” Justin huffed as he looked over at the copse of trees and bushes, noting there were no benches or even a fallen log to sit on._

_“Oh, I’m sure I could find something for you to sit on,” Brian purred, yanking Justin back into his chest and molding his body against Justin’s._

_“Oh, hell no,” Justin said, pulling away and hurriedly walking down the trail. “I remember what happened the last time we had sex in the snow; you were sick for a week. No way in hell am I dealing with that again._

 

Justin flushed again as his husband gave him a knowing look. But Justin just ignored him, focusing his attention on the attendant smearing a Strawberry Wine infused mask on his feet and wrapping them in plastic booties. Brian just chuckled again and went back to the magazine he was reading, a smirk on his lips.

Huffing Justin sat back and looked around the room, his eyes falling onto a brochure on the table beside him. Picking it up, he read through the various spa treatments and packages, his brow pinching when he noticed a distinct lacking in their own spa package. Not that he was complaining, but he also couldn’t resist teasing Brian about it either.

“So no waxing?” Justin asked, amusement coating his voice as he held up the brochure; and then laughed when Brian looked at him as if he’d grown another head.

“There is no way in hell that I am letting anyone get near me with hot wax outside of the bedroom, Sunshine,” Brian sneered, shuddering at the mere thought of anyone coming near him with said item. “Especially in certain areas.”

And then he smirked and leaned over, a wicked gleam in his eye that made Justin swallow thickly and realize he should have just kept his mouth shut.

“Unless you’re offering to do it yourself, Sunshine,” Brian purred next to his ear, tracing his fingers up his thigh. “If that’s the case, I’m game; I remember how much fun we had with hot wax not that long ago.”


	36. February 2 (Part Two)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is again much later, (much,much later), than I wanted to post. But Superbowl Sunday, parties and all that. What can you do? Also, on a random note, don't you hate when you cook all day for an event, and within thirty minutes of serving it, it looks like a swarm of locusts has been through. Seriously, you couldn't draw it out for even another half hour just to make me feel better?

**February 2 (Part Two)**

Brian stared blankly at the remains of the loft and ran a hand through his hair, his body coiled as tight as a spring as glass and bits of…whatever, crunched under his feet. Scrubbing a hand over his hair, he turned in a full circle, trying to ignore the people moving in and out of his private space, documenting the damage.

Fucking hell; and the day had started so well.

After a morning of snowshoeing and general goofing off with Justin, Brian had booked them for an afternoon at The Lakehouse Inn's spa. They'd gotten the full treatment – a facial, a mani-pedi and a sixty-minute couple's massage of a sorts. Well, they were in the same room together, but Justin had received the Some Bunny Loves You prenatal massage, (and he fully admits to cringing at the name), and Brian had gone with the Relaxation and Deep Tissue massage.

They'd then had an early dinner, once again at Crosswinds Grille, before happily piling into their SUV and beginning the two and a half hour drive home. Or well to the loft, as Brian was scheduled for an early morning meeting at Kinnetik and Justin needed to meet with Sidney for some last minute details on the placement of his work. Because the little twat was anal and could never leave well enough alone when it came to his art.

They'd laughed and talked quietly the whole way home, not at all expecting the disaster they'd be coming home to. who would? This was something that you saw in movies, but thought was over exaggerated for drama's sake; not something you expected to happen in your own life. Brian still couldn't get over it and he was standing right there in the middle of it.

When they'd slid the door open, Brian immediately knew something was off;it ht him right in the gut and it had nothing to do with the balled up piece of paper that was sitting next to the door; a ball of paper that he'd known for damned sure hadn't been there when they'd last been in the loft. But it was the first indication for things to come; and it hadn't prepared him for what he and Justin had found when they flipped on the lights.

They'd stood in the doorway in utter shock as they looked around, finding their house in shambles - the furniture was tipped on end and slashed to ribbons with what had to be a large knife; something that was confirmed by the butcher's knife lying on the floor. The glass top to their coffee table had been shattered and glass scattered across the living room area, with the body sticking out of the TV screen; and all of the wires connecting to the DVD player and the cable box ripped out.

All of the kitchen cabinets were open and his and Justin's dinnerware, glasses, and cups, all gifts from their wedding registry, lay smashed and ground into the floor; and most of their small appliances - the toaster, the blender and the coffee machine most notably - looked as if a blunt object had been taken to them and lay smashed and scattered across the counter. But that hadn't even been the worst of it.

Open-mouthed Brian stared in dismay as he noted that several of the glass panels surrounding the bedroom had been smashed in, the glass flown everywhere in the bedroom and the dining area; their dining table took equal treatment. And in the bedroom, the bedding, and the few items of clothing that they'd left behind, had been shredded to ribbons. And more, he'd walked through the bedroom into the bathroom to find the mirror cracked as if someone had punched, the hamper was pretty much kindling, and all of his toiletries were upended and smeared.

Justin's...well, Justin's were simply gone; as if they'd never been there to begin with.

And still, that hadn't been the worst of it.

No, the absolute worst had been that every picture of them, every single picture of Brian and Justin together, had their frames smashed against the floor and the photos had been rent down the middle, with Justin's half missing and his half defaced in some way. All of Justin's sketches of the two of them together had been shredded; the ones of him alone were burnt to ashes. Or at least that's what he thought was sitting in the garbage can. He supposed he should be grateful that the asshole hadn't set them on fire and just left them to burn the fucking loft down.

But the greatest tragedy was the painting.

When Justin came home from New York, the first day he spent in his new studio, he had painted the two of them lying in bed, Brian on top of Justin with their clasped hands stretched out over the bed. The two of them were fuzzy, like a slightly out of focus picture, with their clasped hands in sharp focus, the focal point of the painting.

He'd always loved that painting; he could feel Justin's love for him in that painting; and his sheer joy he felt at their reunification and the promises they'd made the night before, when Brian had asked him to marry him once again. It had always been one of his favorites, and the only reason it had been in the loft in the first place, was that the frame had been damaged and Justin was in the process of looking for another.

Usually it hung in their bedroom at Britin, right across from the bed, where they could see it every morning.

That same painting now lay in shreds on the ground, the frame busted until it resembled kindling. And Justin…God, Justin was just sitting there in front of it staring blankly at the ruins of it, heartbroken and so very quiet that there were times Brian had to check that he was still breathing. And fuck if that didn't just tear him up inside.

When he found this fucker, he was so going to end him.

Rubbing his hand over his mouth and jaw, Brian exhaled explosively, his heart aching for his husband, and looked around again, surprised to see that only Carl remained behind. Smiling weakly at the other man, Brian slowly walked over to him, glass crunching underfoot, and stood by his side as the other man studied the room.

Carl shook his head at the damage, disbelief etched into his face.

"You seeing what I'm seeing, kid?" Carl asked softly, his eyes immediately falling onto the ruined sketches and the shredded pictures, and...God...the painting, along with other random missing things. Things that belonged to his husband and should be there, but after inventory, were noticeably missing; like his favorite lounge about the loft hoodie that once draped over one chairs. It wasn't surprising that Carl hadn't gotten the measure right away.

"Yeah," Brian sighed heavily, wishing he could unsee it; as he really didn't like the implications. "I'm seeing what you are seeing. It's like…"

Brian paused because he just couldn't voice it.

"Someone is trying to erase you from his life?" Carl asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Yeah, that…" Brian swallowed, his throat tight as he looked around the loft once more, still unable to believe what was happening. "…the fuck?"

Carl nodded gravely as he walked around, his brow furrowed as he took it all in. He sighed and met Brian's eyes, the both of them completely shell-shocked by the destruction and the sheer violence behind it. The older man sighed again, rubbed his hand over his face and then looked towards Justin, who was still kneeling in front of his destroyed painting.

"Think he's figured it out yet?" Carl asked, nodding to Justin.

And Brian knew exactly what he was asking – did he think Justin realized that this wasn't just a random act of vandalism, but targeted, with Justin as the vandal's obvious obsession and Brian the vandal's apparent obstacle.

"Hard to tell," Brian said in a low voice; he rolled his lips between his teeth as he studied his silent husband. And then he shook his head in disbelief. "He's so upset about the sketches and painting right now, I don't think it's sunk in just yet. Thank God most of his work is at the manor." And then Brian paused, cursing low under his breath as he ran a hand through his hair. "Fuck…the manor. I need to call Anna and John. I hope that nothing has happened out there. It's his sanctuary."

"You do know you're won't be able to keep this under wraps," Carl said, fixing him with knowing look. "He's an intelligent man; once he's over being shocked about it, he'll put the pieces together."

"I know," Brian sighed; knowing Justin was far too intelligent not to do just that. And when he did, there would be hell to be paid. His little spitfire would not take this sitting down. "But, I'll deal with it then; for right now, he doesn't need anymore stress. Not with the baby…"

"That's gonna backfire on you," Carl warned, interrupting him. Brian grimaced, but couldn't refute his words. He looked away, making Carl sigh and roll his eyes. "But I have a feeling you already knew that."

"What am I supposed to do?" Brian asked with a terse smile on his face; yes, he absolutely knew that Justin would have his ass for protecting him from this, but he and Sunbeam came first. "He's already stressed out due to everyone butting their fucking noses in where they don't belong, and worrying about the show, and then there is the fact that he's already aware that someone has been watching us."

"Wait," Carl turned around, giving Brian the hairy eyeball. Brian winced; shit, he hadn't meant to say anything about that. "What do you mean there was someone watching you? You didn't mention that earlier."

"What's to mention, Carl?" Brian sighed, knowing that he was going to get an earful from the retired cop. "Neither of us saw anything out of the ordinary; and trust me, I was looking after he mentioned it. All I could have told them was it felt like we were being watched and that I had a gut feeling it's related to this."

"Still," Carl huffed, looking not pleased at all that Brian was holding information back. "You should have mentioned it to the detective in charge; even if there was nothing they could do with it. We need to know stuff like this so that we can adequately protect you. You have to realize how serious this is, Brian. This is not your average vandal. This person has serious beef with _you_ and I don't think it's fully sunk in that no alarm was raised until you got home. That can only mean one thing."

"They had the code," Brian said tightly, his anger flooding back in an instant, his eyes flashing and cheeks heating as he stared at the room. "They had the fucking code to my alarm system. Yes, I did grasp that Carl."

"Then you have to realize that any bit of information you have, no matter how insignificant you think it might be, is important," Carl said, staring Brian down, not in the least cowed by his anger. "If we're reading this right, this person is obsessed with Justin; and equally obsessed with getting _you_ out of his life. That does not sound like someone you want to tangle with."

Brian growled low in his throat and shoved his hands through his hair; he clenched them into fists and pulled as he took those words in. He felt so helpless; and fuck, he hated that feeling. There was no worse feeling in the world; especially when it came to keeping his husband safe. Which he couldn't do if this fucking asshole could just walk right into their fucking house at the drop of a fucking hat.

"I don't know what to do," Brian admitted, looking helplessly at Carl. "I don't want him staying out at Britin all by himself while I'm in town; and yet, I can't have him staying here when that asshole, or even assholes, has the code and could just walk in without consequence. I mean, yes; I can and _will_ change it; but that does me little good when I have no idea how they got it in the first place."

"When was the last time you changed it?" Carl asked, the detective in him kicking in. "And who has it?"

"We changed it about two months ago," Brian said, thinking back; they usually changed it every six months. "As for the people that have it; Ted and Cynthia do since they take care of things if we're gone for extended periods of time; but I trust them with my life. I haven't told anyone else."

"Deb knows it," Carl said, his brows pinching thoughtfully.

"How the fuck does Deb know it?" Brian asked, outraged to find out that someone had had loose lips; although, he'd swear on his life that neither Ted or Cynthia would do such a thing. "I know that I never told her; and I'm pretty sure that Justin hasn't either."

"I don't know," Carl shrugged. "I know I heard her saying something about needing to write it down not long after you changed it. I just assumed you had told Michael and then told him to pass it on to her."

And no; no he did not do that; he'd stopped giving Michael the code when he'd had the locks changed a few months after Justin's return. He'd gotten sick of having good old Mikey letting himself in whenever the hell he felt like it. Typically when they were busy and interrupting the two of them.

"Mikey," Brian spat, his ire growing as this was yet one more transgression to add to the growing list of them. "Great, this day just gets better and better."

"I can talk to her when I get home and find out," Carl offered, but likely knew that it would do little good. While Deb had gotten better about facing Mikey's bad points, she was his mother and find a way to make this Brian's fault.

"Don't bother," Brian said grimly, knowing that he needed to have a word with Mikey as soon as possible. He'd been trying to corner the little asshole for over a week now, only to be put off by Ben and the others; all telling him that Mikey was sick. But he called bullshit; he knew better now and Mikey was going to get a firm talking to even if he had to kick his fucking door down. "I'll take care of this myself."

"If that's what you want to do," Carl said blandly; and Brian gave him a faint smirk knowing that the man planned to be as far away as possible when it happened. "I need to head into the precinct and give this new information to the detective working your case." Carl walked over to him and squeezed his shoulder. "Be careful, son; and take care of our boy."

"We'll see you later, Carl," Brian said, a lump in his throat as the older man walked away "Thanks for being here."

"Anytime, Brian," Carl called as he walked out the door, closing it behind him.

Brian let out the breath he'd been holding and pinched the bridge of his nose. He looked over to Justin, who was still staring blankly at his ruined work and sighed. He had no fucking idea how to fix this for him. And, honestly, he didn't think he could. There was no way that the painting could be salvaged, no matter how much he wanted it.

Walking over to his husband, Brian sank to his knees and then sat down, pulling the blond into his lap as he did so. He pressed a kiss against the other man's temple, his heart breaking anew as a tear slid down Justin's cheek. Rolling his lips between his lips, he pressed his cheek to Justin's, offering him the silent comfort he needed.

"Hey, Sunshine," Brian whispered after a moment. "You okay?"

Justin choked out a bitter laugh. And yeah, he got that. The question was so laughably lame that he wanted to kick himself for even asking it; but he still had no idea what to say and he wasn't about to offer up pithy platitudes.

"Who…" Justin swallowed as his voice cracked, his fingers trembling as they sifted through the wreckage. "Who would do this, Brian? Who hates us so much that they'd destroy all of our pictures?"

Brian closed is eyes; fuck, Justin would start with the question that he had no answer to; the one he'd been dreading. Especially as, by his wording, he still hadn't yet realized the most of the violence was perpetuated against, not them as a couple, but Brian as an individual and his place in Justin's life.

"I don't know, Sunshine," Brian said, kissing him softly on the cheek "But I have faith in Carl's friends; they'll figure this out." And well, so much for not offering platitudes; but he did believe it to be so.

"They destroyed our painting, Brian," Justin said hoarsely, his voice thick with tears. " _Our_ painting; the first one I painted when I came home for good. Why would they…it's gone; completely destroyed. There is no way I can salvage it."

Brian blinked, fighting back his own tears as he needed to stay strong for Justin right now; he'd deal with his own grief later. Burying his face into Justin's hair, he breathed in deeply, finding strength in Justin's scent and presence; at least enough to make it through this conversation without completely losing it.

"Then you'll paint us another," Brian said with a soft sigh, kissing along his jaw. "And this one will be bigger and better because _we_ are in a better place. Don't let this asshole get to you, Sunshine. That's what he or she wants."

"I just…" Justin trailed off; and then clenched his hands into fists and hissed. "God, I'm so furious that someone broke into our home and touched our things, _destroyed_ our things. I just can't…" Justin swallowed and pressed his fingers to his eyes, as if trying to stave off tears. He sighed. "I'm just glad that nothing happened at Britin."

"Did you get a hold of Anna and John?" Brian asked, glad that one of them had had the presence of mind to contact their house and grounds keepers.

"Yeah, they were at the cottage most of the weekend," Justin said, slumping back against Brian's chest, the fight draining out of him for now. "No one came by that they are aware of; and when they went to look; nothing was missing or destroyed. Thank God."

Well that was one less thing to worry about.

"Hmmm…" Brian hummed, the question that had been preying on his mind since they'd first opened the loft door reasserting itself at those words.

"What?" Justin asked, well aware that Brian had something on his mind.

"Nothing," Brian said, and then smiled sheepishly when Justin shot him _the look_. The one he'd developed when he was a teenager and said, 'don't even, I am so on to you.' Brian huffed. "Just wondering why they broke into the loft; we rarely stay here and only have a few basics for when we do. Our life is at Britin. And honestly, if it were me, I'd want to make as big a statement as possible, so I'd target the manor."

"Maybe they couldn't," Justin said with a small shrug of his shoulders; and really it was a simple, but relevant, and likely, answer. "The manor is much more secure than here; not to mention the fact that we have a private security company that is wired in, unlike here."

"Different companies too," Brian mused, cursing himself for not putting the loft into the contract with the new company. "I keep meaning to switch the loft over, but haven't gotten around to it. Although, this is as good as an incentive as any."

Justin just nodded and then reached out his hand to touch the shreds of the painting once more, his face a mask of heartbreak. And God, if Brian ever got his hands on this asshole, he or she was so fucking done for doing this to him. Inhaling deeply, Brian pressed a kiss to the top of Justin's head and held him close.

"Paint it again, Sunshine," Brian said, his cheek resting on Justin's head. "Paint it for me again; only this time, add our wedding bands as the focal point, not our clenched hands. And I will love it just as much as this one."

Justin chewed on his bottom lip as he looked at what had become a symbol of their reunion with growing determination; just as Brian knew he would.

"Okay," Justin nodded again, his jaw firming with determination and his eyes holding the fire that had drawn Brian in from the minute he'd seen a teenage twink standing under a lamppost. "But not this one; I have a better one in mind; one that will show off all of our family."


	37. February 4 (Part One)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Um...please don't kill me for this. I promise to make it up to you and them.

**February 4 (Part One)**

Justin leaned back and closed his eyes, a tight little smile on his face as Emmett excused himself to go use the restroom. He felt bad for his friend. Emmett had been trying so hard to distract him from the night before, but all Justin could see in his mind were the shreds of his painting lying on the floor like the spilled entrails of a slaughtered animal.

It's what it felt like too.

Like he'd been gutted. Like someone had taken a knife to his heart and belly instead of the painting that had come to symbolize his hope and love for Brian. God, he still couldn't believe that someone had done that; and why? Why would someone destroy his work like that? He just couldn't wrap his mind around the level of rage and violence needed to destroy…to crush…

Justin took a deep breath and shook his head; while he was certainly upset about the rest of the damage to the loft, it was the loss of his art that shattered him. Each piece was a part of his heart, a part of his soul that he freely gave away because he wanted to share the way he viewed the world. It was deeply personal, and that someone hated the two of them enough to completely eradicate a part of that; it…he just couldn't fathom that level of malice; that level of enmity.

Breathing harshly through his nose, Justin tried to block out the visual of his work laid out in ribbons and pieces on the hardwood floor. He didn't need to spark another panic attack. He'd already been close to that edge since last night and had been desperately been trying to crawl back from that ledge as he knew that this level of stress couldn't be good for him or for Sunbeam.

That is, of course, why that annoying, whining little weasel's voice decided to cut through his mental exercises now; fucking Murphy's Law.

"There you are you stupid, little shit," Michael hissed; and Justin could tell from the tone of his voice that he was gearing up for another epic temper tantrum; fuck, where was Daphne when he needed her; he so did _not_ have the patience for this shit today. "I knew you were going to be nothing but trouble when you came into our lives. But, of course, you have Brian brainwashed and completely under your spell; and he never listens to me anymore."

Gee, I wonder why, Mikey? Could it be you're an annoying little shit, who seems to be stuck in a time loop; where we just keep coming back to this idea that I'm the villain in some cheesy comic book script that you've written for your life?

Did he mention that he had no patience for this shit today?

"Hello, Michael," Justin sighed, opening his eyes to focus on the thorn in his side. "How lovely it is to see you again; how are you today? Me? Oh, I'm doing as well as can be expected given that I seem to be carrying the world's next, great soccer player or gold cast professional dancer."

"Don't get smart with me, you little shit," Michael spat; and it took everything in Justin not to roll his eyes and, inadvertently, make things worse. "Being cute isn't going to distract me from your bullshit splattering all over Brian once again."

And Jesus Christ, Michael was a fucking broken record; he really needed to get new material because this shit was just boring Justin now.

"So, what have I done now?" Justin blithely asked, wondering what transgression he'd committed now in Novotneyville. "Did I single-handedly bring about the national debt? Hold down Lance Armstrong and force him to take steroids and lie to the entire world about it? Instigate global warming? Did I manage to somehow get one of your favorite comic book superheroes killed off again? Not to worry on the last one. You do know that in about a month or so, that Marvel will find a way to resurrect them, right? Superheroes never stay dead. Well, outside of Captain Astro, but he was peanuts in the greater comic book universe anyways."

Yeah, take that asshole; now go the fuck away and let me eat my lunch in peace.

"Unbelievable," Michael spat, shaking his head in disgust; Justin just looked at him blandly since he still had no fucking idea what brought this week's tirade on. "You don't even care, do you?"

"Well, since I have no idea what the fuck you're talking about," Justin said in an even tone, mentally counting down from one hundred so he didn't smear the insect across the floor. "As usual; it's hard to find any remorse for my so-called actions."

"I'm talking about the fact that once again Brian is in danger because of you," Michael sneered, shoving Justin's shoulder. And, oh, he was just asking for that beat down now.

"What?" Justin asked irritably, getting sick of the circles Michael was speaking in. Just fucking tell him the problem, so he could get on with his life; preferably within the next eon too. "What the fuck are you talking about?"

"Oh, what, now you care?" Michael asked, trying to ape Brian's sarcastic wit and failing miserably. Seriously, don't even try to engage in a battle of wits when you were outclassed in every way. It just made you look pathetic.

And then Michael said something that had Justin's blood running cold.

"I'm talking about the fact that Brian has some psycho gunning for him and wanting to off him because of you, you shit head," Michael spat, completely ignoring Justin's comment.

Justin literally felt all the color in his face drain; his blood chilled further as his mind started rapidly piecing things together. Things he should have picked up from the beginning, but hadn't because he'd been so heartbroken over the loss of his art.

"What?" he managed to choke out, his body going numb as he played the destruction of the loft, and the hushed, but worried conversation between Carl and Brian, over again in his head; and seeing things far too clearly this time.

"Didn't think I'd hear about it, did you?" Michael sneered, still running off at the mouth and not even paying attention as he ripped into Justin. "Oh, but I heard all of the gritty details; about how someone broke into the loft and destroyed it. About how this asshole destroyed anything of Brian's and cut him out of all of the pictures of the two of you; and how he destroyed any hint of you as a couple, salvaging only your parts, but burning or slashing any hint of Brian out of existence."

"No, that's not…" Justin denied quietly, but then trailed off as his blood began to rush in his head, leaving Michael's voice to grow distance, as more pieces feel into place.

His heart started tripping wildly in his chest, tapping out an erratic tempo as he recalled the feeling of being watched; about how he thought he felt someone touch him at the parade and whisper something softly in his ear. He'd ignored it at the time, but now distinctly remembered a voice saying, ' _you look lovely today, my angel_.'

"How they defaced anything that even hinted at Brian being in your life," Michael continued without even realizing he'd lost his audience's attention as Justin was too wrapped up in his thoughts.

He clenched his hands into fists, shivering violently and his breath growing short and ragged as he remembered the way every piece of art that included Brian had been destroyed – either shredded, or slashed, or… Didn't he overhear something about ashes and something being burnt? Didn't fire usually symbolize the purging of something from one's life; or in this case, had this asshole tried to purge Brian from _his_ life?

"Carl said that it had to be someone obsessed with you," Michael sneered, in a fine frenzy now that he'd had a somewhat captive audience. "Although, why anyone would want you is beyond me. You're nothing but a noose around Brian's neck; and, frankly, you should have been tossed aside a long time ago."

Justin's breathing grew shallow with every word spat at him and every single sign that came to mind, until his heart felt as if it were trying to pound out of his chest. His vision swam before his eyes and he felt like he couldn't breathe. It felt like his blood was literally throbbing in his head and neck and his chest was being crushed in a vise. He tried to draw in a deep breath, but he couldn't, ramping up his panic another notch.

"He said that they were actively trying to wipe Brian out of your life," Michael sneered, and Justin barely felt Michael's spittle hit his cheek as he rampaged on like a rabid animal. "Which should be the opposite if you asked me; you're nothing but a danger to Brian because this asshole has, for some reason beyond me, decided that eliminating Brian out of your life will get them what they want. That…"

Michael's voice instantly cut off as Em came back to the table; some small part of Justin registered Michael's face paling as he looked around and noted the disgusted looks of the patrons around him. And then he cringed when he noticed Em staring at him with barely repressed rage. But the greater part of Justin's focus was internal, latched onto the one thought that could terrify him more than losing the use of his right hand once more.

"Michael," Em hissed, shoving the other man away from Justin; but Justin could barely even react as his mind was elsewhere. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I'm was just telling this asshole that once again he is nothing but a menace and Brian would have been better off…" Michael hissed, gearing up once more, before cowering as Emmett's face darkened.

"Better off what, Michael?" Em asked in a deceptively silky tone, his eyes flashing fire at the smaller man. "Being with you?"

"That is not…" Michael protested, realizing he was perilously close to getting his ass kicked by any, and all, present.

"Save it for someone who cares," Em spat, turning back to a shaking and panting Justin. "Justin?" Justin turned slowly towards him, blanching when he saw the worried look on Em's face; shit, he must look worse than he felt. "Baby; are you okay?"

Justin tried to reassure his friend that he was okay, but he couldn't get the words out. All he could see in his mind's eye was Brian, lying broken and bleeding among the glass and the ceramics and the wood and the slashed canvas on the loft floor. Justin sucked in a sharp breath and, unknowingly, made a keening sound in the back of his throat.

"Baby, come on," Em pleaded, reaching out a hand towards Justin; but he couldn't stand the thought of anyone touching him right now. He flinched, curling away from Emmett as the visual of Brian continued to play over and over in a continuous loop in Justin's head. Em growled and spun around. "What the fuck did you say to him, Michael?"

"Oh, this is just so typical," Michael spat, firing up once again and clearly _not_ getting the picture that he was treading on thin ice; something that a small, still observant, part of Justin recognized by Em's tone. It was the same  one he'd developed for tricks who couldn't seem to understand that no meant no. "He freaks out and you blame me; the stupid twink just couldn't face the truth that once again Brian is in danger because of him."

"You said what?" Em asked in a deceptively calm voice; and then he held up his hand before Michael could answer. "You know what? I don't have time for your petty bullshit. You have exactly thirty seconds to get the hell out of here, or you will learn just how I survived all those years in Hazelhurst. And trust me, when they say my aim is deadly accurate; it means just that."

"Sir, is there a problem?" the manager asked, coming up at that moment.

"No," Em said, and then paused, giving Michael the evil eye. "Actually yes; this man was harassing my friend and I'd like him to leave."

"Your friend?" Michael squawked, his mouth agape. "Oh and what am I?"

"Nothing, Michael," Em said, looking at him as if he'd smelled something putrid. "You are nothing to me. Because the person I met, the friend that I thought I once knew, wouldn't have done this. I don't know who the fuck you are anymore. And quite frankly, I don't care to. No leave before I do something I _won't_ regret."

"But Em…" Michael whined, but Em ignored him.

He turned back to Justin and knelt down in front of him; Justin felt as if he was watching him from a distance, his vision blurred and graying a bit around the edges. Frowning, Em grabbed a napkin, wet it with some water from Justin's glass and dabbed at Justin's brow. Justin hissed and flinched; the napkin felt unnaturally cold against his unnaturally hot skin, almost as if he were running a fever. Closing his eyes, Justin shook his head rapidly trying to get away from the soothing touch. He didn't deserve it, not when Brian…

Oh God, Brian; why hadn't he seen what had been right in front of his face? He'd been so worried about his paintings and drawings and this asshole had threatened…oh, God, he couldn't even think it. Shuddering, Justin leaned his head against Em's shoulder.

"Sir, I have to ask you to leave," the tinny voice of the manager came above the roaring in Justin's ears. "I can't have you disrupting my business or harassing my customers."

"But I don't understand what…" Michael started, but was cut off.

"Please leave," the manager said a bit more firmly; and then he sighed and said to…well, Justin had no idea who; but someone there. "A little help here?"

"Wait, wait," Michael spluttered, and then demanding if he weren't the entire reason Justin couldn't feel any of his limbs. "What's wrong with him?"

"You need to leave now, Michael; I don't have time to deal with you bullshit!" Em spat, cautiously wrapping an arm around Justin; but Justin couldn't really feel it. He felt so cold inside, a hard ball of dread solidifying in his stomach as he played the words over in his head again. "Baby? Come on baby, talk to me."

Justin lifted his head and winced as pain lanced through it.

"Em?" Justin whispered, his hands shaking. "I don't feel so good. My heart is racing; I can feel it pounding in chest and neck and ears. And my vision is swimming. My chest hurts and it feels like I can't breathe…"

"Can someone call me an ambulance?" Em called over his shoulder, panic creeping in his voice; and Justin wanted to reassure his friend, and brother in all, but blood, but he wasn't even sure of it himself. "It's okay, Baby; you're going to be fine. Just breathe with me okay. Just like you learned, inhale, two, three; hold, two, three; exhale, two, three; hold, two, three. And again; that's good, Baby."

After that, Justin lost the thread of what was going on; he didn't know how long they sat there trying to force Justin's breathing to even out; but it must have been awhile because the next thing he knew he was being lifted onto a gurney, with voices echoing over him.

"Can you tell us what happened?" an authoritative voice asked.

"Unfortunately I don't know much as I went to the restroom," Em said, his voice frantic. "But when I got back, he was arguing with a friend, and he went suddenly pale and mentioned that he was having chest pains and breathing issues and that his heart was racing. He's pregnant and I didn't want to take any chances."

"His blood pressure is elevated," Another voice came from the fog surrounding Justin. "Are you riding with us?"

"Yes, I'm his brother," Emmett said in a firm tone; and Justin almost smiled at that. "Let me just call his husband and we can be on our way." Emmett pressed a kiss to his brow. "I'll be right back, Baby. I just want to call Brian, so he can be there to meet us there. I know how much you hate this, but we don't want anything to happen to, Sunbeam."

Emmett hurried away and then finally after a period of time that Justin couldn't quite keep the measure of, they were swiftly making their way out the door and he was being put into the ambulance, with Em's voice echoing in his ears before he mercifully blacked out.

"Brian? This is Emmett. I need you to get to West Penn as soon as possible. Um…something has happened to Justin, but I don't know what; the paramedics said something about him having an elevated blood pressure and Justin was complaining of chest pain and being short of breath and they are currently loading him into…Brian? Brian? Fuck me. I so don't want to be in Michael's shoes right now."


	38. February 4 (Part Two)

**February 4 (Part Two)**

Emmett soberly watched the scene playing out in front of him with just a hint of a smile touching his lips, knowing that Baby's loud complaints would get him nowhere. It was a fight he'd become familiar with – Justin nagging Brian; and Brian ignoring Justin's complaints in favor of what he felt was best – since Justin had entered their lives.

It's also one he'd find much more amusing if he wasn't still trying to hold onto the reins of his temper, and wasn't fully cognizant of the reason for this hospital visit.

Oh, he hadn't been aware of the reason for Justin's meltdown at the time; but due to the amazing pervasiveness of digital media today, Emmett was now well-aware of why Justin had broken down the way he had. And he was madder than a wet hen; or, as his Aunt Lula would have said, _'that boy is about to pitch his self a dying duck fit. You best be running unless you want him to cancel your birth certificate.'_

Tapping his fingers on the arm of his chair, he felt a cold rage envelop him as he thought back to the video that Todd had sent him. Todd had gotten it from his roommate, the moron who taped it in the first place, and had barely stopped him from posting it on YouTube. A good thing indeed since it carried information that did not need to be released to the public. And really, he'd love to know where the little twerp had gotten that information; he didn't believe for a minute that Carl had said one word about it.

He wished that he could say that he couldn't believe the vile things that spewed from Michael's mouth, but sadly, he couldn't. Even if he hadn't seen the video with his own eyes, he could fully believe that Michael was that low, that vile. And it certainly _wasn't_ a recent thing by any means. No matter how much Baby denied it; Emmett had seen the cold, calculating look develop in Michael's eyes over the years when he addressed Baby. That yellow-bellied, snake in the grass knew exactly what he was doing.

Emmett had long wanted to instigate a Come-to-Jesus Meeting; preferably with his foot up Michael's ass. But Baby had talked him out of it time and time again; and because he loved Justin so much, and was trying to heed his wishes, Emmett had remained silent.

Well no more.

After watching his Baby work himself up into such an agitated state that he literally passed out due to hyperventilation; he wasn't going to sit back and play Mister Nice Guy. Michael was in his crosshairs, and he better do as his Aunt Lula would have suggested, running long and hard; because his check was about to come due and he'd long been writing checks his ass couldn't cash.

Sighing, Emmett tuned back into the ongoing 'discussion' between Baby and Big Bad, and was just thankful that Brian hadn't seen the confrontation video. Yet. Emmett had enough problems keeping his own temper in check; he didn't have the time or the patience to hold back a rampaging Kinney set on the warpath.

A sight that could be truly beautiful to behold when it was directed to a laser-like point, but also one that left a wide spread trail of collateral damage in his wake.

And there would be plenty of the latter in this particular case.

"When can I get out of here again?" Justin groused, punching at his pillows as he tried to beat them into some sort of comfortable state.

"Tomorrow," Brian reiterated, rolling his eyes at his husband's continued antics and slapping Justin's hands away as he rearranged the pillows once more. "I already told you this."

"It was just an anxiety attack," Justin huffed, throwing himself against the pillows in a fit of pique that almost hid the way his hands trembled. "I just don't see what the fuss is; I've had them before. There was no need to haul me off to the hospital."

"Your blood pressure is still higher than they like," Brian said, sighing and pinching the bridge of his nose, likely praying for patience. "They want to observe you overnight to make sure this is an anomaly, not something we need to worry about. It's done, Justin. And all the whining and groveling in the world is not going to change this."

"You take that back," Justin hissed, baring his teeth in the process; and really, he wasn't helping his argument by doing that. "I do not whine!"

"You're doing a great impression of it then," Brian said, casting an irritated look Justin's way; and then said something that had Emmett wincing because he knew it wouldn't go over well at the moment. "For a minute there; I swore that Mikey was in the room."

"Don't speak that name to me!" Justin spat, his eyes spitting fire; and yup, Emmett had known that would happen. Now that Baby was no longer shocked by the venom Michael had spewed at him, he was spitting mad.

"Oh, fuck," Brian said, narrowing his eyes at his husband. "What the fuck did Michael do now?"

"Nothing," Justin mumbled, wincing as he never intended on saying anything.

Baby crossed his arms over his chest and looked away from Big Bad, likely in the hope that he'd drop it. Emmett could have told him that would never happen. Big Bad was on the scent of trouble and was a fucking terrier with a bone when it came down to it.

"Justin." Brian stated implacably, a hint of steel in his eyes.

Justin turned back and just stared him down, not once flinching under that hard gaze, a mutinous expression firmly planted on his face.

"You know I will find out," Brian said, arching a brow. And really, that was the truth of it; because if Baby didn't fess up, Emmett sure as hell was going to do it. "You might as well come clean now."

"I can deal with it myself," Justin said, turning away to face the wall again.

Brian compressed his lips into a thin, white line as he stared at the back of Justin's head, his fingers clenching and unclenching as he tried to find way to get his recalcitrant husband to talk. And then he flicked his eyes over at Emmett, latching onto him with a suddenness that had Emmett sitting up straight; and then he smiled a cold, hard smile that said he'd figured out that Emmett was his best chance for information.

Swallowing thickly, Emmett stared right back, shivering at the look on Big Bad's face; and it took everything in him not to gasp out loud at the rage he'd seen simmering in Brian's eyes, inadvertently giving him away to Justin. His comic alter ego was well named and, for the first time, Emmett could really see from where Justin had drawn his inspiration for Rage; especially in this moment, when the living embodiment of Rage's JT was sitting in a hospital bed and suffering at the hands of his so-called friend.

"I hate hospitals," Justin muttered, wilting back against the pillows, his face paler than it should be as he stared miserably at the ceiling.

Brian instantly homed in on his husband once again, allowing Emmett to take a deep breath and relax. He didn't fool himself one bit in thinking that Brian wasn't going to pin him down as soon as possible to pump him for information. It would happen, and Emmett could all but read the number of days until Michael's demise in that look.

"I know, baby," Brian said, his face softening as he kissed Justin on the forehead. "But it's just for the night; and I will be right here with you the entire night." Brian ran his hand through Justin's hair, garnering him a watery smile. "Promise me that you will stay; if not for you then to make sure that Sunbeam is safe."

"Not fair," Justin mumbled, but seemed resigned to his fate.

"I thought we covered this before," Brian said, arching a brow as he sat back in his seat.

"I know, I know," Justin huffed, scowling at a very triumphant, and smug in the knowledge, Big Bad. "You still fight dirty."

"That's never been a secret, Sunshine," Brian smirked, running his fingers over Justin's arm before linking them with the fingers of the hand resting on Justin's stomach. "And still you manage to love me anyways."

Justin opened his mouth to respond, but was quickly interrupted by a blonde whirlwind as his mother rushed through the door in a panic. Justin didn't even bother to hide his groan as she rushed him, relief filling her face as she pulled him into her arms and nearly squeezed him to death.

"Justin!" Jen gasped against Justin's hair, her eyes closing against the tears welling up in them. Justin sighed and shot Brian an annoyed look as he patted her on the back. Brian just smirked, one that quickly smoothed out as Jen let Justin go and faced him. "I got here as quickly as I could, but between trying to get everyone out of the house I was showing and traffic…" Jen huffed and then dropped a kiss onto Brian's cheek before sitting down to catch her breath. "Hello, sweetheart; do you have any information yet?"

"You know," Justin huffed, staring at his mother in disbelief. "I am sitting right here."

"Hush, Justin," Jen admonished in the way only mothers could, barely sparing Baby a look before she turned back to Brian with a knowing look. It always amused Emmett that in these situations, Brian was the favored child; something Big Bad needled Baby about endlessly. "I know better than to ask you as you'll just downplay everything."

Justin huffed, threw himself dramatically on the bed, and buried his face into his pillows muttering something about interfering mothers and annoying husbands that wouldn't go away and leave him alone. Brian smirked at Justin's back, but quickly sobered as he filled Jen in on all of the details, his face growing darker with everything that the doctors had relayed to him about Justin's condition.

By the time he'd finished, Jen's face was set into a grim mask, Brian was clenching his hands into fists once more and Justin was staring at his hands with an uncomfortable moue on his face. And Emmett; he was furious. Meeting Brian's gaze once more, he nodded towards the door, getting a confirming nod in return.

"Jen," Brian said, a stiff smile on his face as he uncrossed his legs and stood. "Could you sit with Justin for a bit? I need to talk to Emmett out in the hall for a few minutes."

"Of course, sweetheart," Jen said, looking between Brian and Emmett with a curious expression, but didn't ask.

Justin's head shot up and he narrowed his eyes at his husband, but Brian just ignored him. Justin turned to look at Emmett instead, knowing he'd have a better chance of convincing him to let things go, but Emmett just shook his head.

"Emmett," Justin said with a stern look.

"Not this time, Baby," was all that Emmett said as he headed for the door.

"Mom!" Justin spluttered, a little shocked he wasn't getting his way. "You need to stop them!"

"Justin," Jen stated in a firm voice. "I don't know what's going on; but, if it's what I think it is, there is no way in hell I'm stopping them. Now lie down and stop fussing."

Brian and Emmett exchanged an amused look as Justin squawked at his mother's words and quickly left the room before Justin could try hopping out of the bed to stop them. They silently walked down the hall, passing the waiting room to find a much more private area before Brian turned to him with a grim, but determined smile.

"What happened?" he asked, his tone brooking no arguments. Not that Emmett intended to argue with him over this; he, himself, was done.

Taking a deep breath, Emmett quickly filled him in on what he'd seen happening at the restaurant, including how Justin had seemed tense the entire morning in spite of his efforts to distract him, leading up to when he came out of bathroom to find Michael hovering over him. Brian's face grew darker and darker as Emmett then relayed the argument between him and Michael and trying to help Justin with his panic attack, but he had been too far gone to listen.

And then, when Emmett mentioned the video that Todd had stopped his roommate from posting, Brian growled and demanded to see it for himself. Emmett pulled the video up and solemnly handed his phone over, his blood chilling in his veins as he watched Brian's face harden until two pieces of flint stared up at him.

"I am so done with this shit," Brian said in cold, measured tone that had Emmett shuddering as he handed Emmett his phone. "It ends now."

With that Brian walked around Emmett with a grim smile; and well, Emmett was all for Big Bad going out and handing Michael his ass. But…but he'd promised Justin that he would be there for the night; and if he went after Michael now, there was no way he wouldn't end up in a jail cell. So, girding himself up for a fight, Emmett strode after Brian and intercepted him, arms crossed over his chest.

"Honey," Emmett said, and then paused to find the words necessary to temper Brian's rage; at least for the night. "I know you're angry and I don't blame you; if I were in your place, and Michael had done this to Drew, you would not be able to stop me from shooting his ass. So, far be it for me to stop you from getting your vengeance."

"I sense a _'but'_ coming," Brian said tersely; but at least he was listening and not turning Emmett into a human pancake.

"But right now," Emmett pointed out with a knowing look. "Justin needs you more than you need to get revenge. That boy is terrified; not only because he's in the hospital, but because he knows damned well that this could have an adverse effect on Sunbeam."

Brian exhaled explosively, and then cursed under his breath as he turned on his heel and walked a few steps away. He pulled at his hair and then turned back and gestured impatiently for Emmett to continue his thoughts. Again, he was visibly unhappy at the interruption, but still willing to listen to Emmett's reasoning.

"And to top it all off, he is worried about you," Emmett continued, running a hand through his hair; God, he hoped this would work. He really didn't want to tell Baby that his husband was in jail because he'd murdered his former best friend. "That doesn't make for a good head space. So, you need to focus on him for now. And then tomorrow, or the next day, or a week from now, when he has been discharged and he's at home resting; you can seek out Michael and I will be right there with you. Understand?"

Brian exhaled explosively once more, but eventually nodded.

"Yeah, I get it," Brian huffed, obviously not at all happy with putting his plans off, but seeing the reason in the current situation.

"Good," Emmett nodded; and then his gaze hardened as he thought of something else. "So, you go take care of our boy; I have a few things I need to do myself."

"Em…" Brian warned, obviously thinking that Emmett was going to go after Michael himself.

"I promise not to do anything to Michael," he said with a thin smile. " _Yet._ But I am curious as to why Carl, who knows better than to talk about an open case, is filling Michael in on details that would be better off left in the dark. Something isn't right there. I just can't see him doing that no matter how much he loves Deb."

"You make an excellent point," Brian mused thoughtfully as they headed back to Justin's room. "I remember when he was dealing that rash of break-ins before he retired. And even though we all knew most of the details from friends, he still refused to confirm or deny anything."

"And that's why I don't believe Michael one bit," Emmett said; it would just be like Michael to twist things into his favor. "Something is fishy there; and I aim to find out."

"Let me know what you find out," Brian said, grimacing as he approached the door. "For now, I have a drama princess to deal with; God knows making sure he doesn't try to sneak out of the hospital will be headache enough for tonight."

"Kiss our Baby for me," Emmett teased, smirking when Brian glared at him. "I'll be back once I find out what the hell is going on."

"Not likely, Honeycutt," Brian glowered, pointing at Emmett. "The only kisses _my_ baby will be receiving are from me, and me alone. Keep your hands to yourself."

"Can't blame me for trying," Emmett quipped as he continued down the hall. "And don't call me, Honeycutt."


	39. February 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter that everyone has been waiting for...

**February 6 – 22 weeks**

Brian stared at the house that had, at one time, been home to him and sighed. It hurt his heart that after today, he may or may not be welcome in it; it really could go either way. After all, Michael was Deb's biological son, and she had a nasty habit of siding with him no matter had badly he'd behaved. And Brian was likely about to end a nearly thirty-year friendship today; but one did what they must.

He hated to confront Michael at Deb's house of all places. It had been his sanctuary for many years. And Michael knew it; which is why the asshole had very cleverly taken to hiding here as often as possible; he likely thought that Brian wouldn't dare rip him a new asshole in his mother's house.

Mikey really should have known better; nothing, but nothing would stop him from this.

"You ready, sweetie?" Emmett asked from the passenger seat, his eyes coolly trained on the house in front of them; he, thankfully, hadn't commented on them sitting outside it for the last several minutes as Brian put his thoughts together.

"Is anyone ever really ready for this, Em?" Brian huffed, a bitter note in his voice.

"I guess not," Emmett said noncommittally; he turned to Brian and arched a brow, taunting Brian just enough to raise his hackles. "Having second thoughts?"

"Oh, hell no," Brian hissed, glaring at a smirking Emmett. And he really wasn't; even now, his blood boiled every time he recalled Michael telling Justin that he was a danger to him; that he should have been...well, we all know what Mikey thought Justin should have been. Gritting his teeth, rage flooded his system; he really should have hit the asshole a lot harder that day. Maybe then he would have caught a clue.

"Not one bit" Brian confirmed with a grim smile; Michael was about to get a reckoning. "This has been a long time in the making." Brian paused, a small sad smile touching his lips. "I just wish I could believe that Deb won't hold a grudge or find a way to blame me for…whatever. Unfortunately, prior experience speaks otherwise."

Emmett sobered and smiled sympathetically; something that Brian ignored. He didn't need nor want anyone's pity.

"No matter what happens," Emmett said, patting him awkwardly on the back. "Just know that the majority of us – Jen, Daphne, Drew, Ted, Blake, Mel, Carl, and myself – we are _all_ on _your_ side, sweetie. Eventually she'll come around. She always does. If not in her own time, then you have a bitchy, little blond that would be more than happy to verbally smack some sense into her."

Brian couldn't help but smile a little at that because it was absolutely true; look at what the brat had done when he and Mikey weren't...speaking. He sobered at that thought; maybe it would have been better if he hadn't. Justin certainly would have been much better off without Michael's presence in their lives.

"The little twat does have a way of shutting people down," Brian agreed, his mouth twisting into a faint smirk; and then he turned back to the house, his eyes narrowing a tad as he noticed the curtains in the living room flutter; as if someone had been watching them.

And likely they were; his best guess would be Mikey since neither Deb nor Carl came to the door to greet them. And that just enraged him further. Fucking, little coward; hiding behind mommy's apron because he didn't have the fucking balls to face up to what he'd done. That one small action cemented how things were going to go in this meeting.

Had Mikey come to the door and taken his punishment like a man, Brian would have felt like there was still a sliver of hope left for their friendship. But by taking the coward's way out, he'd just proven he was not the man Brian had once thought he was; and he couldn't respect a man that couldn't admit when he was wrong.

Inhaling deeply, Brian opened his door and climbed out, barely aware of Emmett doing the same. He forcefully shut the door and then looked to the right; he shared a grim smile with Emmett and headed for the door. Quickly crossing the yard, Brian climbed the stairs with Emmett following in his wake. Reaching for the doorknob, he didn't even bother to knock as he didn't want to announce his presence. He just strode into the living room, a cold smile curling on his lips as he noticed Mikey shoving something into a bag at his feet, babbling to Deb all the while.

"Going somewhere?" Brian asked in a deceptively soft tone; one that he knew would throw the others off, but knew that Michael would recognize since he'd herd it numerous times when Brian had defended him from bullies. Michael's head popped up and he paled, his fingers falling useless against the bag. "Well, this won't take long."

"Brian…" Michael began weakly; likely about to begin his litany of reasons of why he wasn't really to blame – he wasn't feeling well, he was just worried and overreacted, he'd heard that Justin was acting oddly, the moon was full, they didn't have his favorite cheese in the store, he stubbed his toe this morning.

It really didn't matter what the fucking reason was; Brian couldn't give even one fuck about his explanations; there was _nothing_ that Michael could say to excuse his behavior. And Brian was beyond sick of Michael's attitude and he wasn't going to tolerate it anymore.

"You with me," Brian hissed stalking over to Michael; he grabbed the other man by the arm and yanked him out of his seat, dragging him across the room when Michael didn't react fast enough. "Now, Michael!"

"What's going on?" Deb cried, getting up from her seat; but Brian didn't even bother to look back as he forcefully led Michael on a path through the living, into the kitchen, and out the back door.

There was no need to. He didn't need to look to know what their reactions would be. Deb would be standing there, hands on her hips, an indignant expression on her face because God fucking forbid someone other than she chastises her baby. And as for Ben, he'd just be sitting there stunned, like the useless, weak, fucking enabling asshole that he was, trying to figure out whether or not he should get involved.

It was beyond pathetic.

"Deb, Ben, I love you; but, butt the fuck out," Brian threw over his shoulder as he opened the back door and shoved Michael through it. He held up a single finger and pointed between his chest and Michael. "This is between me and him."

"Now listen here you little shit…" Deb started as she made her way toward the back door, only to be intercepted from her righteous path as Emmett came out of no where and blocked her. And that would be exactly why Brian brought him. Queen that he may be, Emmett knew how to hold his own against Deb and would watch his back.

"Deb!" Emmett growled, startling her long enough that he had a chance to shut and lock the door. "For fucks sake, leave it be! He is fully justified in his anger at Michael. And before you ask; no, I will not be telling you why, as it is none of your business! Now sit down and shut up!"

Brian smirked; if he hadn't been so pissed at Michael's actions, he would have laughed at Deb's shrill, indignant squawk filling the air, followed by the low, soothing tones of Ben trying to placate her. It was fucking pathetic just how predictable they could be. But as it was, he had a bigger fish to fry.

Brian clambered off the porch and down the stairs, Michael whining in his wake. He rolled his eyes, and grit his teeth against the urge to stop the whining with his fist. Entering the small yard, Brian shoved Michael firmly away from him, not caring that Michael stumbled a little. As it was, his breath was coming in shallow pants and he was so close to losing it, he needed to get Michael away from him.

"Ow!" Michael whined, rubbing his arm in an effort to draw sympathy; but it didn't work this time, as Brian was, to steal a phrase from Justin, on to him and his manipulative behavior. "Brian!"

"Shut up!" Brian commanded, his eyes practically spitting fire. "I have something to say to you; and for once in your godforsaken life you are going to keep that nasty mouth of yours closed and listen. Or I promise that I will take great joy in tying your ass down into a chair and gagging you. And trust me, you won't enjoy it."

Michael fell silent at those words, his eyes going wide and wounded, like a fucking puppy; but Brian wasn't buying it anymore. Not after what he'd seen in the past month. The wool had been firmly pulled from his eyes, shredded up and burnt to fucking ashes. There was no way Michael's little manipulations were going to get to him.

Pacing the length of the tiny yard, Brian studied Michael quietly, noting several things he'd been blind to for so many years – the slight bitter twist to his mouth, the spiteful crinkle of his nose and the calculating glint lying just behind that wounded gaze. It sickened him that he'd fallen for it so many times; and he couldn't believe that he had as he stared at this man – someone he'd once considered a lifelong friend. He also couldn't hold back the utter disappointment and disgust at himself from welling up in his throat like bile.

And _that_ only made Brian's fury burn that much hotter and brighter; fucking little shit.

"I would hit you right now," Brian said in a carefully controlled voice, that still trembled with fury around the edges; he was careful to keep a couple of arms lengths between the two of them. He didn't trust his ability to hold back if Michael were within range. "But I'm afraid that if I start, I will never stop. And that…that doesn't make me feel very good, Michael. I have tried very hard **NOT** to be my father; and the fact that you have made me so furious that I'm contemplating physical violence makes me sick to my stomach."

Michael's eyes bugged out at that announcement, and for the first time he looked uncertain. _Good_. He hoped that the little asshole wallowed in it; he hoped that that it ate him up inside, just like the fear and stress ate at Justin when the little bastard attacked him the other day.

"Tell me, Michael," Brian said in a faux conversational tone, his eyes growing dark and flinty as he stared at his former friend. "Where in your pea-sized brain did you think it was it was okay to get a pregnant man so upset that he had to be rushed to, and _admitted_ into, the fucking hospital because his blood pressure spiked?"

Michael swallowed thickly, his Adam's apple visibly bobbing from where Brian stood; Brian circled the other man with a sneer on his face, looking very much like a shark waiting to attack. And really, he was. He was this close to saying screw his principles and just wailing on the nasty little brat. And really, the _only_ thing that stopped him was the fact that Justin needed him at the house, not in a jail cell. Brian arched his brow, and gestured with his arms and hands as if to say, ' _well, hit me with your excuses, fucker._ ' But Michael just looked at the ground and remained silent.

Yeah, he didn't think the asshole would say anything.

"Tell me why," Brian continued in a mocking tone, smirking when Michael bristled at it. _Come on fucker. Just one word; just say one word and give me an excuse to pound your useless ass into the ground._

"Tell me why I was sitting at my stressed-out, anxious husband's bedside, listening to our doctors say things like _'his blood pressure is far higher than we like it to be;_ ' and that ' _if it remains high, it could potentially lead to low birth weight or an early delivery;_ ' or that ' _it could harm the carrier's kidneys or other organs;_ ' or my favorite, that it ' _causes decreased blood flow to the placenta and potential placental abruption._ '"

Michael turned white and then red; and took a halting step away from Brian, obviously wanting to put even more distance between them. But Brian could have told him that it was useless. If he'd _really_ wanted to, nothing would have stopped him from getting his hands on the little bastard.

"Why was I sitting there comforting my husband," Brian asked, his voice growing steely as he stalked forward; blood rushed through his ears and his hands clenched into fists as Michael scrambled backwards. Not that it did any good as Brian caught up to him with two strides. He grabbed Michael by the collar and spat.

"Trying to soothe his anxiety so that his blood pressure didn't continue to rise; hoping, and praying to a God that I don't even believe in, that everything will be okay. Why was I holding his shaking body in my arms as he cried at the thought of our Sunbeam being born far too early, or even a potentially dying, leading to a stillborn birth!?"

Michael shook his head in denial, but Brian didn't want to hear it. He didn't care if Michael hadn't realized that his actions could have such serious consequences. The fact of the matter was that he knew that it could be detrimental in other ways. He knew that Justin's anxiety levels were often higher than most peoples due to his anxiety disorder. He knew that his actions could trigger a panic attack; and he knew that even something that small could have an adverse reaction to Justin and the baby.

And he did it anyway.

Brian wasn't feeling merciful for that reason alone.

"I'll tell you why," Brian hissed, shoving Michael away from him;he watched as Michael barely caught himself in time to keep from falling on his ass. Too bad. "Because you're a jealous, spiteful, little viper that eavesdropped on a phone conversation that had nothing to do with you and was none of your fucking business. And then, rather than using your few functioning brain cells to realize that letting sensitive information out was a bad idea, you used it to confront Justin in the middle of a fucking restaurant! Spewing your bile and venom for all to hear, including, potentially, the person that had perpetuated the crime in the first place! And then, rather than be a decent person, you blame my husband, triggering an anxiety attack. Because now, thanks to you, he's worried that I'm going to be killed. Did you _not_ learn from the last time you confronted him?"

"You heard about…" Michael started and then cut himself off as Brian swung his head and stared at him incredulously.

Michael's eyes widened until the whites were showing, fear filling them as he realized that hadn't been his wisest move. Brian laughed humorously at his reaction. Really? Out of all the things he had said, _that_ was what he latched onto? Un-fucking-believable.

"Oh, yeah, I heard about that," Brian nodded, his lips compressing in thin line as Michael winced. "I even got to see your charming behavior on a YouTube video."

Michael turned even redder if it were at all possible.

"I'm sure you're very familiar with it. It showed the world what an incredible ass you can be when things don't go your way."

Michael opened his mouth to protest, but quickly snapped it shut once more as Brian threw him a filthy look; one that just dared Michael to give him a reason to shut it for him.

"Don't think for one minute that I didn't realize that this video was the reason behind your so-called illness," Brian smiled coldly, cracking his knuckles for effect. "Sadly, I also know that it had _nothing_ to do with you feeling ashamed of your behavior, which you really should be; but that it was because you were embarrassed at being caught and hiding because you knew I'd take a strip out of your ass once I found out."

Michael flushed and looked away, not able deny any of Brian's words.

"So, what was it, Mikey?" Brian mocked, carefully placing his hands in his pockets as he walked up to Michael and got into his face. "You had a bad day and decided that Justin was an easy target? You were jealous that Justin has the ability to carry our child while you can't, and he made the perfect punching bag?"

Brian smirked as something flickered in Michael's eyes as he said those last words. _Bingo_. He supposed that he should feel some stirring of sympathy for his former friend; it must be tough having to live with Ben's illness and realizing there were things you can never do as a couple as a result. And maybe he would have if Michael hadn't gone after Justin so viciously. Once he had though, Brian lost all sympathy for the other man.

"Ah, so I hit the nail on the head, did I?" Brian drawled, a cruel smile twisting his face. He ignored the pain that flashed over Michael's face. Michael hadn't cared about what he did to Justin, so why the hell should he? "You're pissed because you can never have raw sex with your husband and carry his child. And instead of dealing with it like a man, you've reverted to acting like petulant teenager lashing out at the world; or the most viable target. Did it make you feel better, Mikey? Were you hoping that he'd lose it?"

Michael's head snapped up, his eyes wide, mouth agape and seemed completely stunned that Brian would ever say that to him. That Brian would accuse him of doing something like that. But really, what was he supposed to think? Michael had become a rampaging nightmare from the moment that he and Justin had announced their pregnancy. And as sad as it was to say, he could very well believe it of Michael; even if it had only been on a subconscious level.

"Because that could still happen," Brian said, his voice gone hoarse as he thought of Justin, sitting at home on bed rest for the next two days in the hope that being in a calm, quiet, familiar environment would bring his blood pressure down to his normal level.

"He isn't out of danger yet. He could still go into labor; and having the baby at this stage could mean a death sentence for Sunbeam. Only about 20-35 percent of babies survive if they are born this early. And let me tell you, Michael; if that happens, there is no place you can hide where I won't find you. You better pray that I'm feeling merciful then; because if I'm not... Although, the likelihood of my being merciful would be slim to nil at that point, so I suppose that's moot."

Michael looked away, and for a moment, Brian thought he might actually look ashamed of his actions; but then Brian remembered how many times Michael had done something similar and then 'apologized,' only turn right back around and go back to the same damned behaviors. There is a reason that _'sorry is bullshit_ ' had become one of Brian's mottos. Michael had taught him that lesson to him a long time ago.

Michael looked at his hands and mumbled something.

"What was that?" Brian asked, dying to know what little piece of wisdom Mikey was trying to impart now; or more likely, what excuse he was offering up now.

"I said I was sorry," Michael said a bit tersely; and really, if you're going to fucking apologize, at least have the grace to pretend like you mean it. Don't act like a petulant child being forced to say the words.

Brian stared at Michael for a long moment, wondering when he'd become this person in front of him – spiteful, mean, and bitter; a man that thought that nothing more than a few token words and a fake smile would heal the wounds he'd created.

Had he always been this person, and Brian had just ignored it because he was scared that he'd lose the only family that he'd ever known? Was he only willing to see it now because Justin had come into his life and bought with him Jen and Molly and Tucker and Daphne and a wealth of other people that made up his new family?

He didn't know, but it ended here; it ended today.

"Sorry, doesn't cut it, Michael," Brian said, exhaustion washing over him as he stared at his long-time friend; especially when Michael's mouth gaped again. Brian gave a mirthless laugh. "Oh yeah; that wasn't what you expected to hear, was it? You were expecting me to say ' _sorry is bullshit_ ' and reassure you that everything would be fine in the end, weren't you?"

Brian shook his head as the look on Michael's face confirmed his suspicions.

"Not gonna happen," Brian said firmly, almost laughing when Michael's eyes bulged again. "Not now, not ever. You are lucky you are even standing at this point; because I am so close to ending you that I can barely stand to be in the same room as you. In fact, the _only_ reason that you are is that I still respect and love your mother and wouldn't want to cause her undue pain by murdering hder only child. Because let me tell you, it is so tempting right now."

Michael stared at him in disbelief and opened his mouth, but Brian held up a hand to ward him off because he really didn't trust himself to not give him the beating Michael so richly deserved. And he _was_ terrified at the thought that if he started, he really wouldn't stop until Michael was no longer moving.

"Not to mention that I would be little good to Justin if I was in a jail cell. Now, I need to go back home and make sure that my husband and our child isn't going to be in danger because of your thoughtless actions."

Brian stared at Michael, and watched as the walls started to build right before his eyes; watched as Michael started rewriting the script in his head to go in his favor and Brian just shook his head at Michael's complete lack of remorse.

"But, before I go, I will tell you this," Brian said, wanting to make his position very clear. And there was only one way he knew to do it where Michael would believe it without question. "And this is a _promise_ from me to you, Michael; and you know I _never_ go back on my promises."

Michael swallowed thickly, his eyes welling up as Brian stared at him with no little amount of distrust, disgust and keen disappointment.

"If you so much as breathe on Justin wrong over the next few months, there will be no end to the pain I will cause you. You will be done. Do you hear me? I have put up with this bullshit for years because I know that Justin can take care of himself; he doesn't need me to fight his battles. But that ends right here, right now. Because right now, he is taking care of himself and my unborn child; and that comes first and foremost. Anything else, _anyone_ else that causes him even a hint of stress or pain will have to come through me first. And you don't want to be on that list. Stay the fuck away from me, and my husband; you aren't welcome any longer."

Brian spun on his heel and walked back towards the house. Michael made a distressed noise that sounded suspiciously like a sob, but it didn't melt Brian's heart one bit. All he had to do was visualize Justin lying in a hospital bed, crying his eyes out as the doctors told him that unless they got his blood pressure under control, the baby _would_ be in danger since he couldn't take most of the meds available. He was allergic to them. That single thought had chilled Brian to the bone and hardened him against any small stray strand of sympathy that he might have felt for his former friend.

"Oh, and Michael," Brian said as he opened the door, casting one last hard look his way. "If I find out that you have had anything to do with this asshole getting the code to the loft, running won't be an option. You will be dead."


	40. February 7

**February 7**

Justin held his breath and surreptitiously looked around Brian's office, his ears peeled for any movement outside the door. But after a minute, when no sounds echoed in the office outside, Justin sighed with relief and sat up slowly, trying to make as little noise as possible. Sliding to the edge of the couch, Justin placed his feet on the floor and stood up with a happy sigh and stretched. God, that felt good.

Pausing once more as he heard someone shuffling some papers around outside, Justin once again held his breath and waited several seconds; and then sighed with relief when footsteps began walking away from Yasmeen's desk. Straightening up, Justin swiftly and silently headed for the door, completely irritated that his wardens were taking this bed rest thing a bit too literally. There was absolutely no reason that he couldn't get up and move around a bit; his own doctor had told Brian just this morning that he was fine as long as he got periodic rest at home. It didn't, by any means, mean that Justin was confined to the fucking bed; or couch in this case.

But try explaining that to his husband and his minions; not that he'd _ever_ call Cynthia or Yasmeen that to their faces. He did want to live to see his child born. But just try to explain that to them, and all he got was a raised brow and an unimpressed _'what of it'_ look.

Striding towards the door, Justin could nearly taste the sweet call of freedom when a loud voice called out from behind him, making him nearly jump out of his skin.

"Park it mister!" Yasmeen growled, pointing to the couch with one had on her hip.

Fuck! And he had been so close!

"But, Yasmeen! I just want to..." Justin said, looking at the door a little desperately, but trailed off as he knew that nothing would appease his jailer.

"No!" Yasmeen huffed, still pointing at the couch with a stern look on her face. "Plant your booty! You are to stay on that couch and not exert yourself. I will bring you whatever you need. Do **not** make me repeat myself."

Justin huffed and stomped back over to the couch, much like a five-year-old would have, glaring at Yasmeen the entire way. But fuck it, he was so sick of being treated like an invalid and he hadn't had his fucking coffee in three days. Yasmeen remained unperturbed, however; she crossed her arms over her chest and stared pointedly at him, tapping her foot until, finally, Justin caved and flopped back onto the couch as ungraciously as possible. All he wanted was half-a-fucking-cup of coffee, and to get up and get it himself; was that too much to ask?

"So what was it that you needed?" Yasmeen asked in a tone that brooked no arguments, arranging the files she'd brought in on Brian's desk.

Justin just pouted; there was no way he could tell her what he'd really been after as technically, he wasn't supposed to be drinking it for another few days. But Yasmeen just walked over and raised her brows, and Justin knew she wouldn't leave until he said something to appease her curiosity.

"I was just going to get a drink of water," Justin said with his best sweet smile; although, it likely was a weak thing at best given how pissy he was feeling today.

"Nice try, buster," Yasmeen snorted, giving Justin a _'do I look stupid'_ look. "But since there is a full bottle of water right beside your head, I'm not buying it. Try again."

Justin winced; fuck, he'd forgotten that Brian had set it there before running off to do…whatever it was he was doing. He couldn't quite remember as he'd been too busy fuming at been coddled like he was some hapless damsel to pay all that much attention. He thought he'd said something about meeting with Ted; or was that yesterday? Fuck, his memory seemed to be getting worse and worse these days.

"Justin?" Yasmeen prompted, drawing him out of his thoughts.

"I was going to get some hot chocolate," Justin said, all faux innocence; close enough anyways. And if he couldn't have coffee, at least he could have some damned chocolate. And if he was really lucky, she'd doctor it up with some caramel syrup, whipped cream and chocolate shavings, just as he liked it.

"I'm sure you were," Yasmeen agreed dryly, looking like she didn't believe him at all; which he didn't blame her because Brian had warned her about the coffee thing. Jerk. "You won't mind if I go ahead and get that for you then, will you?" Justin scowled; Yasmeen smirked. "Just as I thought; you just keep your cute, little tush right where it is, and I'll be right back with your chocolate."

Justin huffed, grabbed a pillow and screamed into it, blatantly ignoring the laughter echoing throughout the room as Yasmeen headed off to the break room. Just wait until Brian was sick again, bitching about being stuck in bed; he was so going to pay for this nonsense if it was the last thing Justin did.

Lifting the pillow from his face, Justin heaved a frustrated sigh and began counting the squares in the windows once more, completely bored out of his mind. The least the asshole could have done was give him a sketchpad and some pencils before he left; maybe even one of the new account files, so that he could work out some boards for it. Or he could have given him the baby magazines and samples that they'd gotten that morning; _anything_ other just leaving him to lay there, watching the seconds of his life tick away on the wall clock, and driving him mad.

Justin had just reached the last window, when a loud clatter out in the hallway caught his attention and he rolled his eyes. The loud, strident voice carrying up the halls announced their visitor's presence long before she even made it to the office. Great. He so didn't need this today of all days; not when he was on a three-day coffee deficit and had spent the last two days in bed because of her fucking son.

Sitting up straight on the couch, Justin crossed his leg over his knee and rested his clasped hands on it; he watched the doorway with a bored expression on his face, the picture perfect WASP prince. If she wanted a scene today, she was going to damn well get a scene today; just not likely how she expected it to pan out.

Smiling thinly as he heard familiar footsteps all but stomping down the hall, Justin seethed quietly, Deb's likely opening words already echoing in his head; because really, she was painfully predictable in her reactions to poor, little Mikey's woebegone bullshit. Never mind the fact that the asshole had fully deserved the verbal ass-whooping he had gotten courtesy of Brian yesterday. If her poor little baby was hurt, everyone else around him had to hurt too or they'd never hear the end of it.

But not this time; he'd wanted to do this for years, and had only been waiting for Brian to wise up to both Novotnys manipulative ways.

"Where is that asshole?" Deb demanded as she strode through the door in a high dudgeon, her hands planted firmly on her hips.

Yup; he did so hate to be right.

Pasting a thin smile on his face, Justin rose from his seat and let her sweat it out for a moment as he crossed over to Brian's desk, unwilling to cave to her demands; ones that, quite frankly, she had no right to make. If she spent nearly the same amount of time disciplining her brat of a son as she had riding Brian's ass over the years, they wouldn't be in this mess right now as her child might have some actual fucking manners.

If _he'd_ tried anything like this, his mother would have pulled him over her knee and beaten his ass black and blue no matter how old he may have been at the time; and then followed it up with thorough mouth scrubbing. _And then_ , she would have forced him to do some sort of community service revolving around whatever horrible thing he'd said just to beat it into his head just how badly he'd behaved.

He would've never gotten away with this bullshit; and he wasn't going to allow Michael to get away with it either.

"How the hell should I know where your son is?" Justin asked in a frosty voice, arching a brow as he sat on the corner of Brian's desk; and then smirked internally when Deb's mouth gaped in disbelief.

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" Deb demanded furiously, her eyes spitting fire at him.

But, sadly for her, he was no longer a seventeen-year-old boy and wasn't in the least bit cowed by her attitude. He wasn't Brian; he didn't need her approval because he, for the most part, grew up in a stable, loving environment. And while his father had turned out to be a homophobic jackass, his mother was a fucking saint, who would lay down her life for either of her kids.

It was something he was grateful for every day of his life.

"I thought it was pretty cut and dried what I meant by that, Deb," Justin said, still acting like the icy little WASP he'd been trained up to be. "And frankly, I'm not in the mood to put up with your bullshit today."

"Well I want to know what exactly your husband said that has my baby looking so gutted," Deb spat, obviously not catching a clue; not that Justin had expected her to; but he had hoped for a brief moment. "That asshole had better not have…

Deb squawked as Justin rolled his eyes at her tirade and turned his back on her; nothing pissed Deb off more than the visual proof that someone wasn't listening to her. She wouldn't call you on it if you sat there and made the pretense of listening; even if in reality your brain was miles away. After all, how else had Mikey gotten away with it all of his life? He'd learned to sit there, tune her out, all the while making the appropriate noises and then promptly forgot it all, if he'd even heard it to begin with.

But visibly turn your back on her and it was the end of the fucking world. But Justin was at the point of not caring. He strode over to the pile of baby samples and started sifting through them while Deb made indignant noises behind him. Smiling as he found what he was looking for, he quickly tore the package open, strode back over to the desk and slammed the newborn-sized disposable diaper on the desk in front of her.

Deb stared at him with a funny expression on her face, clearly puzzled at  his actions; so he picked it up and handed it to her.

"What the fuck's that for?" Deb asked, taking the diaper and looking at him in complete bewilderment.

"I figured that since Michael obviously can't wipe his own ass without you getting up it," Justin stated with a sweet smile. "You might need it for his diaper change later today. I quite happen to like this brand; very absorbent, less mess to deal with."

"Sunshine!" Deb gasped, dropping the diaper to the floor as she clutched at her chest in shock. "I can't believe you said that to me!" Then she narrowed her eyes and pointed one blood-red fingernail at him and hissed. "This is all that asshole's fault."

And there it was; just as he had been waiting for, it was all Brian's fault. Well, fuck that!

"No," Justin stated firmly, holding his hand up when she started to reply; he was so done with this shit. "This is your son's fault for stressing me out so badly that I had to be hospitalized overnight due to an anxiety attack and a spike in my blood pressure."

Deb's mouth snapped shut as she stared at Justin with hurt bewilderment. Justin sighed internally; a small part of him feeling bad about what he was about to relay, as he'd never wanted to hurt Deb. She'd taken him in and really was like a second mother to him. But this shit had to stop here and now.

They were no longer teenagers; hell, they weren't even twenty-somethings anymore. And Michael's virulent behavior would no longer be condoned by his friends. And more, she needed to realize that and let her man-child reap what he'd sown. Continuing to listen to his half-truths, and outright lies in some instances, was going to get her quickly isolated and barred from the rest of their lives if this kept up.

"What are you talking about?" Deb asked, sitting down heavily in one of the chairs in front of Brian's desk.

Justin smiled grimly, a part of him having expected this.

"I see he played you true to form," Justin said quietly, a sad smile on his mouth. "Went home, crying to his mommy about how mean Big Bad Brian was, but didn't bother to fill you in on the details, did he?"

Deb bristled and shot Justin a disapproving look for his choice of words, but he just crossed his arms and stared back, a bland look on his face. She had no place chastising him when she couldn't even keep her whiny, little bitch of a son in line.

"Well, before you condemn someone, you should find out all the facts," Justin said, walking around the desk and opening Brian's laptop.

He quickly keyed in the password and navigated Chrome until he had what he wanted pulled up. Spinning the laptop around, Justin came back around the desk and sat in the chair next to Deb.

"Since you are unaware of why Brian bitched Michael out, let me fill you in." Justin paused and shot her an exasperated look. "Although, truthfully, he's a fucking adult and it really isn't any of your business." Deb opened her mouth, but Justin beat her to it, saying something that he knew would shut her up in an instant. "Did you know that he has been hounding me since we announced the pregnancy?"

Deb closed her mouth and shook her head. Justin nodded and typed a few words into the YouTube search bar and pulled up the first video. Sadly, he didn't have a copy of the second. Brian had that thing locked down tight the moment that he'd seen it; and no one had wanted to go up against the King of Liberty Ave to post it after the way he'd reamed out Todd's very hapless and idiotic roommate.

"Oh yeah," Justin said, queuing up the video, but hitting pause before it could play. "The first time happened two days after New Years. He stormed up to me in the Diner, I think you were off work that day; and had the nerve to accuse me of being a gold digger and trapping Brian into our marriage by getting pregnant."

Deb's eyes bulged and her mouth slackened as she looked between the computer and Justin in disbelief. Justin compressed his lips and nodded.

"Never mind the fact that we've been married for five years, and I make just as much money as him," Justin laughed bitterly; he'd not been surprised at all by Michael's actions that day. He'd actually been waiting for something similar as soon as they'd made the announcement. "He then began a smear campaign, stating that very thing, which had every jealous queen on the Avenue looking at me with pity. Well, that is until Emmett set them straight."

Yasmeen came back at that point a frown on her face as she stared at the two of them. Justin smiled tightly and shook his head, which had her backing out the room with his chocolate. Damn it.

"If that wasn't enough," Justin said as he turned back to Deb. "About two-three weeks later, he confronted me for a second time; except this time, he stood in the middle of the Big Q, demanding to know where **MY** husband was and why he hadn't called him like some jealous fish wife. _And then_ he proceeded to tell me that it wouldn't be long before Brian went back to tricking because apparently I'd be too fat for him. "

Deb stared at Justin with wide eyes, and he could tell that she wasn't quite sure if she believed him or not. That was exactly why he'd pulled up the video of that day.

"This is the video," Justin said hitting play and letting it go right up until Michael told Justin that eventually Brian would get tired of playing Daddy and then hit stop. He really didn't need to share what Daphne had said after that as it would just bring out the lioness in Deb and then Daphne would eviscerate her if she came calling.

Deb bit her lip and looked down at her clasped hands. Justin sighed, as he knew that it was about to get worse.

"But that isn't even the worst of it," Justin said, echoing his thoughts. Deb looked up with a disillusioned look in her eyes. "No, the worst was three days ago, when he accused me of being a danger to Brian in front of a whole restaurant."

Justin paused and looked away, his eyes tearing a bit as he remembered the shock of hearing those words. Deb reached out and squeezed his hand. Justin gave her a watery smile and then squared his shoulders and cleared his throat.

"He told me that Brian would be better off without me in his life," Justin continued, his voice chilling as the words once again echoed in his head. "Because somehow, it's my fault that some psycho destroyed our loft; and I'm not really sure, but I think he was about to imply that it would have been better off if I was dead just like he did at Linds and Mel's party all those years ago. But I could be wrong; he was cut off when Em walked up."

Deb gasped and slapped a hand her mouth; she shook her head like she didn't want to believe that of her child, but then looked at the computer, where a petulant Michael was staring at Justin in absolute hatred, and then back at Justin's tired face, and knew that he spoke the truth.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Deb asked, her voice thick with tears.

"Because we were handling like adults should," Justin shrugged, "by dealing with it ourselves." Justin paused and closed the laptop. "Not to mention that Brian didn't want to upset you since you seem determined to blame all of Michael's bullshit on Brian."

"I don't..." Deb automatically started to say, but then cut herself off with a small frown.

"You do," Justin said with a mirthless smile; he sighed and shook his head. "I can't count the number of times I've heard you blame Brian for something that Michael's done." Justin paused to look at Deb seriously. "And when you aren't blaming him, you're expecting him to clean up after Michael."

Deb bit her bottom lip and looked at Justin uncertainly.

"And when anyone tries to tell you otherwise, you never listen," Justin said as he rose from the chair and turned Brian's laptop around once more. "And Deb, I love you, but I'm not putting up with this shit anymore. It's ridiculous that you're chasing after a grown man trying to solve his problems and expecting everyone to clean up his mess. Let him deal with his own shit for once."

Deb nodded and looked away. Justin toyed with the files on Brian's desk, not sure what more there was to say. Deb stood and hugged Justin quickly before she walked towards Brian's door at a much more subdued pace than she'd entered.

"And Deb," Justin said, hating that he was about to issue the ultimatum, but knowing it needed to be said. "If you're only going to come in here and call my husband names, and blame him for things he didn't do, you aren't welcome in my presence anymore. I won't tolerate you bad mouthing him."

"Sunshine…" Deb trailed off, swallowing thickly as her eyes teared up. "I didn't mean…"

"You never mean to Deb," Justin said with a sad smile. "But instead of working to change it, you do it again and again, and I am tired to listening you talk down to my husband; especially in this situation where it was in no way his fault. Michael was warned, time and time again, that if he kept this attitude up, Brian was not going to tolerate it any longer. He chose to do it anyway. It is no one's fault, but his own."

"Well said, Sunshine," Brian said a bit tersely, startling them both.

Justin studied his husband's face, trying to judge just how long he had been present and what exactly he'd heard of their conversation. But Brian's face was unreadable as his eyes danced between Justin and his pseudo mother.

"Brian…" Deb said, walking forward to hug him; and then dropping her arms when he held up a hand to put her off.

"Not now, Deb," Brian said; and, as much as he was trying to hide it, Justin couldn't help but hear the hurt in his voice. He just didn't know whether it was Deb's or his words that put it there. "I'll talk to you later. Right now, I need to discuss something with Justin."

And fuck, that didn't sound good at all.

"Don't be mad at him, sweetheart," Deb whispered loud enough for Justin to hear and squeezed his arm. "He was just looking out for you as any good husband would. And I deserved it for all that I said."

Justin fought the urge to roll his eyes as Deb walked out of the office; of course Deb would automatically assume _he_ was the one that Brian was angry at. Like she hadn't just stood there calling him names and had been ready to ream him out for his perfectly justified actions. But, baby steps he supposed.

Brian snorted at her words, shook his head and averted his gaze to the ceiling as if he were praying for patience. He rubbed a hand over his jaw and continued walking into the room, a take-out package in his hand. He set the bag down and flopped into his chair, staring out at nothing for several minutes; until, finally, Justin couldn't stand the silence any longer.

"Brian…" Justin said, and then closed his mouth when Brian just looked at him; he wasn't quite sure what to make of that look though. 

They studied each other for a long drawn out moment; and then Brian exhaled explosively and sat up in his chair.

"Fuck this," Brian groused, pushing the intercom for Yasmeen's desk. "Yasmeen, do me a favor and see if we can get a room for two at either William Penn or at the Fairmont; I don't care which one at the moment. Just make the reservation for tonight and tomorrow with a late check-out on Sunday. Money is no object; get the best room they have available. Let me know if neither of them have any vacancies and we'll plan from there."

"Will do, Boss" Yasmeen acknowledged before turning off the intercom. Brian huffed and turned to Justin with an exasperated smile on his face.

"Do you still have a packed carry-on here?" Brian asked and then paused; shaking his head, he waved the question off. "Never mind; we'll just buy what we need there. But we are definitely getting the fuck out of here for the rest of the weekend. I am not in the mood to deal with anyone else's temper tantrums."

Justin grinned and jumped out of the chair he was sitting in; he crossed the room, grabbed Brian in a tight hug and  kissed him soundly on the mouth. Brian chuckled and pressed a kiss to Justin's brow before pulling away and shoving the takeout container his way.

"Here; I bought you something suitably disgusting for that beast that's growling in your belly."


	41. February 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not posting yesterday, but it was a bitch of a day for me with my mother going to the hospital because she was sick, (luckily, while pneumonia sucks, it wasn’t anything worse as she’s a nurse and is exposed to all kinds of nasty shit). Plus, I was having a rough time with the direction of this vignette as the focus kept getting away from me, and then on top of it, my back had been hurting all day. Finally, I just gave up and went to bed, deciding to just finish today, along with today’s vignette. So, **two** new ones for you today!

**February 8**

Brian silently watched the young, brunette girl set up, happily humming to herself, bopping around to the music in her head and, pretty much, ignoring him in general; which was fine by him as he was doing the same. He thought her name was Maggie or Mattie or something like that, and she'd come highly recommended by Drew and Emmett; and that was the only reason he'd hired her. He didn't think that he'd be able to stand the peppy attitude otherwise. Although, he supposed it didn't matter much.

She was only the means to an end.

After everything that happened this past week, he'd been feeling a bit off center and, in a small way, disconnected from Justin. Between the break in, the trip to the hospital, trying to keep Justin from breaking his bed rest and actively trying _not_ to kill his former best friend, he and Justin hadn't had much time to just _be_. And it didn't help that Justin, himself, had also been far too quiet and jumpy the past few nights.

Honestly, he would have preferred it if Justin had spent the entire time bitching at him for enforcing his bed rest; in fact, Brian had purposely been pushing his buttons over it in the hope of snapping him out of his funk. Anything would have been better than the current silence at home. But if Justin had been irritated in any way, shape or form, he'd kept it well hidden, and driving Brian absolutely nuts. He despised watching his husband act like the pale shadow of himself, constantly jumping at the slightest noise.

It needed to end.

Sighing, Brian turned away from the girl, Mary, or whatever the fuck her name was, and watched the bathroom door for any sign of Justin. He'd been in there for a while now, and if he didn't exit soon, Brian was going to barge in there and haul him out himself.

"Ready whenever you are, Mr. Taylor-Kinney," Macky said and then sat down in the chair he'd offered to her when she'd first arrived.

"Just give me a minute," Brian said as he strode over to the bathroom door; he'd raised his hand to knock on it, when it opened and Justin stepped out in a cloud of steam looking so delicious that he was almost sorry that he'd made this appointment as it meant that he couldn't scoop his husband up, carry him to their bed and lick every, single drop of water from his body.

Licking his lips, Brian just stared at his husband, flicking his eyes slowly over Justin's slender body, and imagining him beneath him. There was not a stray ounce of fat on him despite his recent appetite, and he was only rounded where he needed to be; Brian couldn't help being awestruck by his beauty.

There had never been a man that could ever hold a candle to Justin. Damp alabaster skin fairly glowed with health, the hint of pink dusting it all the proof he needed that Justin had just stepped out of the shower. Well, that and the dark gold hair that clung to the nape of his neck, temples and brow in wet clumps. His eyes, twin sapphires, stared right back at him and sparkled for the first time since they'd left Geneva-by-the-Lake. And Brian couldn't help being mesmerized by it, by _him_.

Cocking his head, Justin smirked and slowly walked over to Brian until he was pressed right up against him; Brian stared down into his face, his eyes riveted on the soft pink lips smiling up at him. He wanted to taste them so badly, and would've if they didn't have an audience. Lifting his eyes, he was met with a bold blue that had darkened to navy and Justin leaned in, his lips just a whisper away from his when someone cleared their throat. Startling, Justin turned towards the living room area and frowned

"Brian?" Justin asked, staring at the girl, who smiled and waved; ever the polite, little WASP, Justin waved back uncertainly. He turned a confused gaze back to Brian and whispered. "What's going on?"

Brian nearly laughed out loud at his bewildered expression over finding some random girl he'd never met sitting in their hotel room, but wisely kept it in check. The last thing he needed was Justin storming off in a huff.

"Well, Mr. Taylor-Kinney," Brian said for his ears only, wrapping his arms around Justin. "I thought that since the affects to last weekend's massage were negated by everything that happened this week that we might try it again."

"And those 'affects' would be?" Justin said, a faint smile on his face as he leaned further into Brian, and Brian barely bit back a hiss as a very hard, very interested cock ground against his; fucking little tease.

"Making sure that you're _completely_ relaxed for the week to come," Brian said, grinding back and smirking when Justin gasped softly. Two could play that game. And then he shrugged, rolled his lips between his teeth and looked away shyly. "And, of course, to show you just how much you mean to me."

Justin's face lit in a Sunshine smile and again Brian was entranced by the sight in front of him; how his husband could ever believe that he'd ever get tired of him, Brian didn't know. But he was determined to nip that kind of thinking in the bud right now.

"I could get into that." Justin beamed, pressing a soft kiss to his lips before glancing over at the other room. "So, are we going to do another couple's massage? Because, in case you hadn't noticed, it might be a bit difficult to do with just one masseuse."

"Not exactly," Brian admitted; although, he really could use a massage as well after the week they'd had, this was solely for Justin. "I thought this time, I'd hire someone to show me how to do it; that way I could take care of you anytime you were stressed."

"You're going to learn how to do a prenatal massage?" Justin said, a hint of doubt coloring his tone as he arched a brow. "Out of the goodness of your heart?"

Brian snorted, dropping a kiss onto the tip of his nose. "Well, you know; any reason to get you naked and to get my hands all over you."

"That does sound much more likely," Justin snickered, cupping his face and playfully biting him on the jaw.

"Plus…" Brian trailed off and shrugged, his cheeks heating as he averted his gaze.

"Plus?" Justin prompted, wrapping his arms around Brian's neck.

"I know that technically we can afford for you to go to get a massage anytime you want," Brian said, looking back down into Justin's face. "But I read somewhere that this was a good bonding experience for both the parents and with the baby." Brian paused and tucked his tongue in his cheek as he teased. "Only if you want to do it, of course."

" ** _IF_** I want to do it?" Justin huffed, staring at Brian as if he had grown a second head. "Yes, Brian; having my own personal masseuse, living in my house, and catering to my every whim, is a terrible hardship; I don't know how I'll be able to stand it."

"Twat," Brian said without heat, utterly amused by his husband's antics.

"Your twat," Justin happily said, another Sunshine smile overtaking his face as he peppered Brian's with kisses. "I can't believe you did this; best husband ever."

"So, does that mean you'll be rewarding me later tonight?" Brian asked, arching a brow as they swayed together.

"We shall see Mr. Kinney-Taylor," Justin said, pulling away with a smirk and walking down the hall to the living room area. "It all depends on how well you learn your lessons."

"Well this should be a snap," Brian smirked right back, following in his wake, fully appreciating the sway of the ass in front of him. "I've always been very good with hands-on learning."

"Oh my God." Justin stopped and turned, staring at him incredulously before rolling his eyes. "I can't believe you are even able to say that with a straight face; you so lose points for that horrendous pun Mr. Taylor-Kinney."

"Well, I'll just have work extra _hard_ to meet your exacting standards, Mr. Taylor-Kinney," Brian teased, ignoring the way Justin rolled his eyes again; he walked up behind Justin and pressed his dick into his ass, showing him just how interested he was in that idea. Justin shivered, and then sighed as Brian dropped a soft kiss onto the nape of his neck. "In the meantime…"

Brian pulled away and made an after you gesture. Justin huffed and shot him a disgruntled look over his shoulder at being denied; but did turn on his heel and continue into the room, a polite smile pasted onto his face.

"This is Maddie…" Brian introduced, and then paused to make sure he got that right; the masseuse nodded enthusiastically. Sighing in relief, as he so didn't want another lecture on paying attention to names, Brian continued. "Maddie Parkinson. She's a friend of Drew and Emmett's and specializes in prenatal massage. Maddie, this is my husband, Justin Taylor-Kinney."

"Hello, Mr. Taylor-Kinney," Maddie said, holding her hand out; Justin shook it firmly and nodded his head in greeting. "Please feel free to call me Maddie. And more specifically, I am a Certified Physical Therapist, a Prenatal Massage Instructor and a Certified Educator of Infant Massage to be precise."

"It's a pleasure to meet you; please call me Justin," he said, his WASP manners on full display; and really, he was so like Mother Taylor in those moments that it made Brian want to laugh; not that he'd ever tell Justin that. He preferred to keep his remaining ball attached to his body. "So what exactly are we doing today?"

"Brian asked me to come in and show him some proper massage techniques for your back and legs, as well as for your baby bump," Maddie said as she pulled a couple of brochures out of her bag. "But before we start with the actual massage part; I did want to cover a few safety concerns for when you do this by yourselves."

Justin nodded and then sat down on the floor like he was in fucking kindergarten, looking up at his teacher for some reason. Brian sighed and dropped down to the floor behind him, knowing that Justin would be bitching about a sore back later if he didn't.

"First of all, you need to be aware that regular massage oil and most essential oils should not be used during pregnancy" Maddie said, going into what Brian called instructor mode and Brian had to fight the urge to tune it out. It was the same tone that Ben once used when he would lecture Brian and Justin on their lifestyles in the past, and Brian always had difficulty paying attention when it came up. "In fact, essential oils should be avoided entirely in the first trimester…"

After that, Brian only paid attention with half an ear, as he was much more intent on the man in his arms. He pulled Justin back between his legs and wrapped his arms around him. Running his hands over any patch of bare skin within his reach, Brian firmly pressed his dick against Justin's ass, until Justin was squirming deliciously against him.

Shooting an admonishing look over his shoulder, Justin huffed when Brian smiled, all faux innocence as he ignored the look and continued to trail his fingers over Justin's neck and arms and chest. It was nothing overtly sexual, but _was_ enough to drive Justin crazy as they hadn't had the chance to make love the last few days due to Justin being in the hospital and on bed rest.

"Stop it," Justin hissed under his breath, grabbing Brian's hands and holding onto them to keep them from wandering, one eye still on Maddie; who either was either blissfully unaware of what was going on, or politely ignoring it. "Behave yourself."

"No," Brian whispered against his ear, pressing a kiss to it as Maddie went into a spiel about not pressing too hard when giving the massage, but rather maintaining a light, gentle, constant stroke. "I love the way you feel against me; I love the feel of your skin under my hands, so deal with it."

"You are so going to pay for this," Justin promised in a heated whisper, and then turned back to discuss the types of oils that Maddie recommended for stretch marks.

"Looking forward to it, my prince," Brian said and then straightened up, snapping back to attention when Maddie stood and grabbed a couple of pillows.

"Okay, so let's start with the back and legs first," Maddie said as she laid the pillows on the floor in front of her. "The first thing you're going to do is put two pillows on the floor into an arrow shape like this. And then Justin, you are going to lay on your side with you armpit between the two pillows, your head on this pillow, and this pillow should be tucked between your legs like so…"

"Not really what I want to slip between your legs at the moment," Brian teased, licking Justin's ear and grinning when he shivered and sunk his teeth into his bottom lip. "But I suppose _that_ will have to wait until later."

"Brian," Justin hissed, jabbing him with his elbow. "Pay attention."

"Yes, dear," Brian mocked, letting him go so that Justin could remove his bathrobe and then lay down on the floor in the correct position. He was paying for this session after all.

"Now Brian, you are going to come up behind him," Maddie said, smirking at their banter; he was really starting to like this girl.

"One of my favorite places to be…" Brian quipped, chuckling when Justin squawked; he sat down behind Justin and then yelped when Justin pinched his thigh. "Brat."

Justin sniggered, but soon quieted when Brian, after listening to Maddie's instructions, began to massage along either side of his spine, working the oil in with the gentle, light strokes of his open palm. Brian continued to work his hands over the skin, his touch just above a caress, only digging in with a little more pressure when he came upon a knot. Justin groaned and made appreciative noises as he worked those out.

"Oh my God," Justin sighed, his voice slurring around the edges as he gradually relaxed under Brian's ministrations. "This is so amazing. Best husband ever."

Brian chuckled and continued to work on both sides for the next fifteen minutes until Justin was no more than a puddle of goo. And then Maddie added some instructions.

"Now take a loosely closed fist," Maddie said, demonstrating with her hand. "And gently massage the coccyx, that's the bone right here at the base of his spine, to help relieve the strain on the buttocks."

"Sooooo the best husband ever," Justin mumbled again with a happy sigh, his body twitching occasionally when Brian hit a particularly sensitive spot. "I hadn't even noticed how sore I was there until you started massaging it."

Brian snorted, and then bit his tongue on all the things he could have said to that comment. And he would have if he wasn't certain that his husband would hold him down in their bed and smother him after Maddie left if he did.

"Don't say it," Justin warned, obviously reading his mind and glaring balefully at him from one eye; or at least he attempted to glare, but he was far too relaxed for there to be any true heat behind it. "Pervert."

Brian just smirked and flashed a _'who me_ ' smile at Justin; not that he could see it as his eyes were once again closed. But he must have sensed it as he huffed and pinched him again, making Brian yelp. Maddie laughed and then moved until she was sitting at Justin's feet as she went into teacher mode once more.

"Next you want to massage the legs as they get much more tired than you realize at times," Maddie said demonstrating on Justin's right leg. "Work from the foot up, massaging the foot, the calves and the outer legs, avoiding the inner thighs, which can be very sensitive."

"Well, that takes the fun out everything," Brian complained, tongue in cheek.

"Brian!" Justin cried, smacking his chest with the back of his hand.

"Oh, like you weren't thinking the same, Sunshine," Brian snickered, moving until he took Maddie's place and then slowly worked up Justin's leg. He started, as Maddie had told him, foot first and then worked up his calf and knee, to his outer thigh. And then, because he couldn't resist, he cast a mischievous look at Maddie, and grabbed Justin's ass, giving it a firm squeeze, eliciting a string of profanities from his husband.

"Well, I'll leave that last part up for you two to decide _later_ ," Maddie laughed, getting up to move a blanket and a pillow other out of one of the armchairs and placed them on the couch against one of the arms.

"Such a perv," Justin groused, but didn't put up much of a fight as Brian completed that side and nudged him onto his other side.

Brian rearranged the pillows and began to work on the opposite leg, rubbing out any knots he found on the way. He also ran his hands over Justin's side and worked on his back a little more, getting the areas that had been harder to reach. Another ten minutes passed before they were interrupted once more; Justin sighed, his eyes fluttering as if he was close to sleep.

"Okay, so with that done," Maddie said, clapping her hands together and wanting to move things forward as they were closing in on the end of their session. "Let's get Justin up so we can finish with the Belly Massage."

"Do I have to?" Justin groaned, his eyes slowly blinking open; he stared at Brian hazily. "I'm quite comfortable right where I am."

"Come on, Sunshine; up and at 'em," Brian said, and then carefully pulled Justin to his feet; Justin did as he asked, but continued to grumble at the thought of moving. But rather than trying to coax his husband into moving, Brian rolled his eyes, scooped Justin up into this arms and simply carried him to the chair.

"Brian!" Justin groused, even as he hung onto to Brian like a limpet. "I _can_ walk myself."

"Sure you can, Sunshine," Brian drawled as he set him on his feet and patted him on the head. "You keep telling yourself that. Now, just stand there and look pretty."

Justin snorted and flipped him off.

"So, for this last part, Brian," Maddie said as she gestured to the couch. "I'm going to have you sit in there, your back against the arm and legs out in front of you." Brian nodded and sat down. "Justin, you will sit in front of him between his legs." Maddie paused again while Justin clambered onto the couch in front of Brian and got comfortable. "Yes, just like that. Now typically, I would suggest starting with some deep breathing to relax you, but I think Justin is more than relaxed enough, so we'll just get right to the belly massage."

"I'll say; if he were anymore relaxed," Brian smirked, pulling Justin back against his chest. "He'd be asleep right now."

"So, the first technique we'll use is called the Belly Lift," Maddie said, demonstrating on her own stomach. Brian squirted a little more oil into his hand and then carefully followed Maddie's instructions. "Slide your hands down over the ribs and the sides of the belly until you reach the bottom, and the scoop your hands under the bump and pull up gently, sliding your hands up the middle of the belly. Again, light, gentle strokes. And then repeat for, well…really, you can do this as many times as you like; there is no set number necessary. Just go until he is good and relaxed or Justin tells you that he wants you to stop. And then, once you're done, rest your hands lightly on the belly for about a minute and we will continue onto the next technique."

Brian nodded and focused all his attention on Justin's growing baby bump; he found it interesting that after months of not showing at all, Justin seemed to be growing quite a bit faster these days. He could swear that he was twice the size he was two to three weeks ago. Not that he'd _ever_ say that to Justin; he did not want to deal with the resulting queen out from Justin believing that he was calling him fat.

"Tell me when, Sunshine," Brian said, running his hands down Justin's sides and under the baby bump to scoop it and run his hands gently over the middle of the belly for what had to be the sixth or seventh time. Eyes closed in bliss, Justin just hummed and didn't answer at first as he was totally lost in the massage.

"Can you just keep doing that forever?" Justin finally said, his voice once again slurred around the edges. "Really, there is no need to stop."

"Brat," Brian huffed, rolling his eyes, but continuing the movements nonetheless.

"And your point is?" Justin sniggered, a smirk on his face.

"There is no way that I'm going to…" Brian groused, and then froze when he felt the smallest jab under his hands as it passed over the middle of the belly. Brian inhaled sharply and looked down at his hands in wonder. He slid them back down to approximately where he thought he felt the kick and pressed them gently to the top of the bump, asking in a hushed tone. "Is that…?"

"Yup; that would be Sunbeam showing appreciation," Justin grinned, opening his eyes to meet Brian's wondrous gaze.

"Wow," Brian choked, his eyes misting as he rubbed along the stomach once more and then gave a watery chuckle when he felt it again, but this time it came a bit more sharply. "That was a strong one; are you okay? It didn't…"

"It didn't hurt, Brian," Justin laughed, squirming back further into his arms. "Really, I'm getting used to Sunbeam using my insides as a punching bag; sometimes I swear there is more than one in there."

"Gonna be a soccer star," Brian grinned, holding his hands in the same place hoping for some more movement; and was instantly rewarded with this weird little fluttering motion under his hands. Of course, that could just be Justin's stomach gurgling, but he chose to believe that it was Sunbeam. "Just like daddy."

"With our luck," Justin huffed, resting his hands on top of Brian's. "Sunbeam will be a jock without a shred of artistic talent; and then where would we be?"

"No worse off than when Gus became a science and computer geek," Brian shrugged, moving his hands a little and picking up on more little jabs and flutters. "Wow, Sunbeam is really active right now."

"Always is this time of day," Justin sighed with exasperation. "It's wonderful, yet at the same time it gets old real fast when Sunbeam starts tap-dancing on my bladder."

Brian nodded and then sighed contentedly; he began to massage Justin's stomach once more, startling when Maddie sat back down on the couch. He had forgotten in all of his excitement of feeling Sunbeam move for the first time that she was even here for a moment. Time to focus; there was only a few minutes left of their session and he wanted to be certain that he learned everything he needed.

"Well, then let's see if we can calm the little tyke down," Brian said; he rested his hands on Justin's belly and looked expectantly at Maddie, murmuring for Justin's ears only. "And _then_ , after this session is over, we can celebrate and maybe apply our newfound skills to other areas."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I glossed over a lot of information in this one, but I did do a lot of research on this topic; I just had to leave most of it out as the vignette just kept getting away from me every time I tried to put it in. However, here are the sites and YouTube videos I used for this vignette if you’re interested. Be fair warned though, one of the videos contains an actual massage, and while there isn’t any explicit nudity, it may not be safe for work.
> 
> For the list of essential oils that may cause issues during pregnancy: National Association of Holistic Aromatherapy guide.
> 
> Video for the Belly Massage.
> 
> Video of the Prenatal Back Massage.
> 
> Instructional video forPrenatal Massage Do's and Don’ts.
> 
> Article on what you can expect at a Professional Prenatal Massage, opposed to doing one in your home.
> 
> Two highly recommended stretch mark massage oils: Bio-Oil Multiuse Skincare Oil and Weleda Stretch Mark Massage Oil.


	42. February 9 (Part One)

**February 9 (Part One)**

Justin carried the completed salad to his mother's table and set it down in the middle before fiddling with the three place settings, making sure that everything was straight and to his mother's specifications. Usually the table held five place settings for his mother's bi-weekly family lunch, which, much like Deb's dinners, were mandatory unless you had a damned good reason for not being there.

But this week it would only be his mother, Molly and himself as Tucker was away on a teacher's conference this weekend and Brian had gotten a call from the police wanting to go over something they'd found in the loft when they were investigating. Justin offered to go with Brian, but his husband shook his head and told him to go to his mother's lunch, so she wouldn't be put out too badly, and that he'd meet him there.

Stretching his arms above his head, Justin yawned and felt amazingly relaxed still despite everything that had happened. This weekend had been perfect and exactly what he had needed to feel centered and to get his feet back under him. Dropping his arms, he walked back into the kitchen and began placing the croutons into the small crocks of French Onion soup and covered each with a slice of provolone cheese, getting them ready for the broiler for whenever Molly got her ass there.

"So, how was the rest of your weekend, sweetheart," his mother asked as she built the pesto chicken sandwiches, also getting them ready to be put onto the panini grill. "Brian called me to let me know that you'd be gone for the weekend, but he didn't tell me why or where you were going."

"Well the why is that Deb…well, that's not accurate," Justin said as he leaned against the counter. "The _why_ was the culmination of everything that's happened since we got back from Geneva. But the last straw was him coming back to the office to find that Deb acted true to form and was blaming Brian for Michael's bullshit."

"I just don't understand her sometimes," Jen sighed as she set the finished sandwiches, (including one for Brian that she'll likely make him take home for him to eat if he didn't make it for lunch), onto a tray.

"Sometimes?" Justin huffed, rolling his lips under as he shook his head.

"Justin," his mother chastised, shaking her head when he just smiled innocently. She sighed and began cleaning the counter. "I understand wanting to protect your children; it is the most natural feeling in the world for a mother. Typically. But there is protecting and then there is coddling. Deb definitely falls into the latter."

"You've been known to be a bit overprotective yourself," Justin reminded her as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"That's because I had a fiercely independent son, who was always telling me that he _could do it himself,'_ " his mother said, mimicking his childlike voice. "That strong sense of self tends to terrify a mother who has lived in the world that he is so determined to take on much longer and knows the dangers associated with it."

"I just knew what I wanted from a very young age," Justin said with a lofty smirk.

"And you'll notice that after awhile I backed off and left you to it," his mother said, her voice dry as the Sahara. "What I did not have was a helpless man-child that can barely put his socks on in the morning without consulting the world if wearing socks would be appropriate or not."

"Gee, Mom," Justin snorted and bit his bottom lip to keep from laughing at her very accurate description of Michael. "Tell us how you really feel."

His mother just sent him a chiding look and continued to clean up without a word; mostly, because she _couldn't_ deny anything as it would be an outright lie. Justin sighed and thought back to the confrontation with Deb, his heart aching a bit that he'd been forced to rip the blinders from her eyes, but needs must. He really couldn't tolerate listening her badger and disparage Brian any longer.

"I think the main problem with Deb is," Justin continued with a thoughtful frown. "She feels guilty about Michael's dad. More to the point, she feels guilty that she damned well knew that Michael's father has been alive, and well, this entire time; but she was too embarrassed to admit that she'd fallen for, and slept with, a gay drag queen. And thus prevented Michael from ever knowing his father until it was far too late to build a real relationship with him."

"Don't make excuses for her, Justin," his mother scolded, a frown on her face. "Her behavior on Friday was deplorable. Not only was she blaming the wrong person; but to then confront Brian at his place of business was just the height of unprofessional. I would never have dreamed of doing that to you or your father no matter how angry I may have been at the time. It's just not done."

"I don't think those words have ever existed in the Novotny lexicon," Justin stated dryly, sniggering when his mother shot him a wry look.

"Point," his mother conceded with a nod, changing the subject as she walked to the dining area to wait for Molly. "So, that was why; now where did you go?"

"We didn't go far at all," Justin said, following in her wake. "Brian needed to stay in Pittsburgh because he has a couple of key accounts to present this week and didn't want to be too far away if something went wrong with the boards. So, we stayed at the Penn for a couple of nights."

"Oh," his mother said as she leaned against a chair, "How was it?"

Justin opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off by the slamming of the door and hurried footsteps making their way into the kitchen. He exchanged an exasperated look with his mother; she'd often said that Molly would be late to her own funeral.

"I'm here, I'm here!" Molly called, rushing into the room in a flurry of limbs and ragged, panting breaths. "I'm here!"

"You're late," his mother said, arching a single delicate eyebrow as she walked back into the kitchen to finish the last steps of their meal; Justin winced at the eyebrow of doom, recalling all too well the number of times he'd been on the other side of it.

"I said I was sorry," Molly huffed, her tone a bit petulant as she flopped into her chair; she didn't bother to help out in the kitchen as it was well known that she somehow managed to set fire to water one time. How the hell that happened, he had no idea, but she'd been banned from the kitchen ever since.

"Actually…" Justin said as he walked towards the kitchen, about to point out that she hadn't actually apologized at all, but his mother gave him _the look_.

"Justin," his mother said in a warning tone as she set the sandwiches on the grill. Justin scowled, but knew better than to say anything as he put the crocks under the broiler. But when her back was turned he did stick his tongue out at his sister anyways.

"I was up late studying last night," Molly whined, flipping him off in retaliation.

"Is that what they are calling it these days," his mother asked dryly as she grabbed the plates from the table and took them to the counter. Much to Justin's amusement, especially as Molly squawked and flushed bright red at their mother's words.

"Mom!" Molly exclaimed as she buried her face in her hands.

"What?" his mother said, a smirk on her face as she pulled the sandwiches off of the grill and cut them in half before placing them each onto a plate. "Please, darling; I was once your age too. I didn't just spring up, full grown, out of your father's head, ready to produce children. Although, he would have probably preferred if I had."

Justin snickered and grabbed the potholders; he pulled out two of the crocks and placed them on the trivets next to the place holdings, dancing around his mother as she juggled the three plates. He pulled out the third and closed the broiler before walking over to the table to set it down on the trivet next to his plate.

"Oh, gross," Molly groaned, grimacing in disgust and rubbing her hand over her face. "I don't want to know these things, Mom."

"Oh, all right," his mother said, laughing at Molly's expression as she grabbed the iced tea and lemonade out of the refrigerator and set them on the table. "You're no fun."

"Teenagers…" Justin sneered teasingly, pouring himself his typical mix of half sweetened iced tea and half lemonade mixture. Hey, he hadn't had any coffee in five days, he was going to damn well have his tea if it was the last thing he did.

"Hey, it wasn't so long ago that you were one yourself," his mother chided, her eyes sparkling with amusement as she sat down. "Don't cast stones."

"I was never this bratty," Justin mock piously informed his mother, his nose in the air.

"I beg to differ," His mother snorted as she poured herself some unsweetened tea. "I recall a stubborn young man that basically told me to _go fuck myself_ ' numerous times; although, granted, never in those exact words."

"Lies," Justin cried, his hand over his heart, sending his mom into a fit of giggles. "I have no idea who this person you speak of is."

"Yes, well memory is the first thing to go when you become an adult," his mother said in mock sympathy, patting his hand consolingly.

"Anyway," Justin said, getting back to the topic at hand now that they were situated. "So we stayed at the Penn Friday and Saturday night in the Presidential Suite." Justin paused as both his mother's and Molly's eyebrows rose at that announcement. "Yup; how Yasmeen swung that I have no idea, but it was available for some reason."

"Lucky dog," Molly grumbled around her sandwich, and then winced when his mother looked over at her in disapproval.

“So we left Kinnetik, and checked in not long after Yasmeen made the reservation,” Justin continued in between bites of his food. “Got to the room to check it out; and my God, it’s [amazing](https://imgur.com/f66v2dv). Really [beautiful](https://imgur.com/5r7wOE6), if a bit much for what we needed this weekend, but you know Brian. “

Justin rolled his eyes as he bit down on his sandwich, showing exactly what he thought of Brian's extravagant ways at times. His mom and sister laughed, having been privy to his and Brian's 'discussions' about just this thing.

"I would have loved to just stay there for a while," Justin continued after he'd finished chewing. "But Brian immediately dragged me off to go shopping. _He_ says it was because he didn't want to drive all the way out to Britin to get clothing, and then all the way back in; but let's face it – Brian doesn't need a reason to shop."

"That is true," his mother said, covering her mouth as she laughed; she flicked her eyes over Justin's new clothing with approval. "It's a shame his taste in clothing hasn't rubbed off on you after all these years."

"I just don't see the point to spending all that money on clothing that is just going to end up getting covered with paint," Justin scowled, stabbing his fork into a cherry tomato and popping it in his mouth; chewing and swallowing before he said. "I prefer to be comfortable and not worry about how much something cost when I'm working in the studio."

"Yes, dear," his mother said in that tone that told him she was merely humoring him.

"And then when we got back that evening, with more than we needed," Justin said, taking a sip of his drink. "Because shopping with Brian is never a quick and easy undertaking; we decided to just order room service and rest for the evening."

"What did you get?" his mother asked, dipping her spoon into her soup.

"We split a shrimp cocktail and the bruschetta trio which had sundried tomatoes, artichokes and kalamata olives on charred focaccia," Justin said, pushing his mixed greens into a small pile before stabbing them with his fork. "And then I had the Jumbo Lump Crab Cake with forbidden rice and grilled zucchini and carrots. And Brian had the Salmon Aveline, which was just salmon over a bed of mixed greens, cucumbers, pine nuts, bleu cheese crumbles and brown sugar vinaigrette."

"That sounds lovely," his mother nodded, taking a dainty bite of her sandwich.

"We spent the rest of the night relaxing and watching TV," Justin said after finishing up his salad, he set the plate aside and pulled his soup closer to him.

"Is that what they are calling it these days," Molly mocked, her eyes sparkling as she managed to look up from her food long enough to comment. And they said _he_ was bad about his food.

"Well, I figured Mom wouldn't want the rest of the details," Justin smirked, a devilish look lighting his eyes as he looked at his mother.

"I do appreciate your discretion," his mother said, huffing with amusement; Justin grinned and took a bite of his soup.

"Saturday was the best though," Justin continued, taking another sip of his drink. "After breakfast, Brian hired this masseuse that specializes in prenatal massage to teach him proper massage techniques so that we can do baby and me type belly bonding massages every night." Justin paused as his mother made a small happy noise. "Yeah, it was really sweet of him."

Justin finished off the rest of his sandwich in a couple of bites, and then wiped his mouth with a napkin as he chewed. He set the napkin aside and leaned back to fill them in on the rest of the day and evening.

"And then, we went to the Warhol and finally got to see the new exhibit as well as walk around for as long as I wanted. Pay back for putting up with his shopping the day before. And then we had dinner at the Terrace room, where we had the Lobster Bisque en Croute for starters, the Spring Salad with Blueberry-Sour Cherry Vinaigrette and then I had the Seafood Provencal with shrimp, scallops and sea bass over freshly made pasta and Brian had the Skuna Bay Salmon with spring onion potato puree and cherry tomato-fennel salad. And then we made it another early evening."

"Code for we had more sex," Molly quipped.

"Yes, dear," his mother said dryly, shaking her head. "I figured that one out for myself. It sounds like a lovely weekend darling."

"It was really nice," Justin said quite happily, loading his plate once more with salad and looking at Brian's sandwich with considering eye. He could easily make him something else later. "And just what we needed. Although…"

Justin trailed off with a shudder as he recalled last night's dream.

"Did something happen?" his mother asked, looking over with a concerned frown.

"Just a nightmare on Saturday night," Justin mumbled, his cheeks heating as his mother looked even more worried. She was well aware of his past with nightmares and he felt bad for worrying her. As, while the dream was unpleasant, it wasn't all that bad.

"About the break in?" his mother asked.

"No; you'll probably find this hilarious, but it was quite traumatizing at the time" Justin muttered reluctantly; and then just gave up because he knew she wouldn't relent until he told her about it. "I dreamed that Brian and I were at the doctor's to get our first ultrasound. And when Amy, the tech, started moving the wand around, she gasped. And when I asked her what was wrong, she told me that she hoped I was okay with multiples because I was having quintuplets."

His mother looked at him for a moment and then threw her head back and laughed; a full-bodied one that that seemed to start from her toes and nearly busted her gut. His sister quickly followed suit, leaving Justin scowling at his plate. And then he shook his head ruefully and chuckled, continuing his story.

"And I looked at her and screamed, _'What do you mean I'm having five!?'_ and she just started pointing them all out to me, like she hadn't just dropped a massive shit bomb on me; and I'm just laying there getting more and more panicked until finally I turned to Brian, glared at him and said, _'This is all your fault! You and your fucking super sperm! You are never touching me again!_ '"

"Oh my God," his mother wheezed as she tried to draw air back into her lungs, only to start laughing again at his expression. "That's hilarious."

"Oh, but then it gets better," Justin said with a wry smile. "Because Brian was just sitting there calmly through the whole thing, and after I was finished yelling at him, he just smiled blandly and said, ' _That's exactly how we planned it, Sunshine. Remember? You said, let's just get it all over with in one go._ ' And my mouth just dropped open and I was so close to killing him, but then I woke up."

"God," his mother said in between laughs. "I remember those dreams; this one time with you, I dreamt that I gave birth to you, but instead of a baby, you came out as a small, full-grown adult. I remember my doctor saying something about it meaning that I was worried that I would miss out on your life or something like that. Frankly, I just think it was the sauerkraut I ate that night."

"I can't wait for these to end," Justin groused, rubbing the back of his neck before he dug into his salad. He was definitely eating that sandwich no matter what his mother said. "That was truly horrifying."

"I hate to break it to you kiddo, but dreams like that never fully go away," his mother said, getting up from her chair to put her dishes into the sink. "Instead they change from pregnancy dreams to baby dreams to toddler dreams to child dreams to teenage dream to…well, you get the picture. You are always going to be worried about your child, no matter what age they are. It's all part of being a parent."

"Well, at least there won't be anymore litter birth dreams," Justin muttered, stabbing a cherry tomato and popping it into his mouth.

"Well, at least until you decide to have another," his mother said from the counter, bagging things up and putting them away.

"Oh hell no," Justin said, shaking his head violently as he focused on his plate. "NO more after this one."

"That's what I said too," his mother snorted walking back over to the table. She set a plate next to him, Brian's sandwich neatly cut in two on it. "And then your sister came along and blew that idea right out of the water."

Justin beamed and grabbed the sandwich, happily biting into it as his mother kissed the top of his head and laughed as she said, "I remember that too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I blame the dream on Starlight’s new story You Belong to Me; I laughed so hard when Gus came down the stairs asking if Brian had something to tell him as there were five baby rooms upstairs. And then I immediately wanted a crack fic where Justin finds out that he’s having quintuplets and spent the entire time bitching about Brian’s super sperm. But I got talked into a pregnancy dream with the same premise by my beta, Yasmania, as she is an evil enabler.


	43. February 9 (Part Two)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another two for one!

**February 9 (Part Two)**

"I'll see you later, Sonny Boy," Brian said as he hugged his son; Gus squeezed him extra hard and held on for a moment longer that he normally would, but Brian didn't blame him. He knew that Gus was still a bit shaken by the past week's events and _his_ Jus' hospital scare.

"Bye, Dad," Gus yelled as he turned and ran back into the house, calling over his shoulder. "Give Jus a hug for me and tell him that I'll call him tonight."

"Will do, Sonny Boy," Brian called back, and then sighed.

While he'd seen Gus several times last week, both at the hospital and out of it, he hadn't had the chance to spend any quality time with him as they'd both been too worried about Justin and Sunbeam. That's why, instead of going to Mother Taylor's luncheon, he decided to take his son out for brunch and a catch up.

God knew they needed that time to regroup.

Turning on his heel, Brian groaned when he saw Lindsay leaning against his car; he so didn't need to deal with her bullshit today, especially as he still hadn't managed to go through all the fucking messages she'd left on his phone. The woman was becoming a menace and he was already dealing with enough shit in his life. He didn't need another stalker added into the mix.

"Lindsay," Brian greeted, a thin smile on his face as he walked over to his car.

" _Where_ have you been?" Lindsay hissed, her arms crossed over her chest.

"With my husband," Brian stated blandly, fighting the urge to roll his eyes at her unwarranted show of possessiveness. Fuck, this shit got old, and he so didn't want to deal with this after the whole Michael debacle. What the fuck was wrong with his oldest friends? "Was there anything else that's none of your business that you wanted to know?"

"I need to know how to get a hold of you," Lindsay demanded, her nose set at a haughty angle, and Brian really did roll his eyes this time.

"No, you don't," Brian stated succinctly, moving around her to get to his car door.

"Yes, I do!" Lindsay spat, and Brian could almost see her stomping her foot like a petulant two-year old. "What if there had been an emergency and I needed to get a hold of you because something happened to Gus. He could have died for all you care…"

Brian swung around and pinned his friend with an enraged look, instantly halting whatever venom the vicious, little viper had been about to spew in its tracks. Walking over to Lindsay slowly, he got up into her face, making her take a nervous step back.

"Do _not_ even go there, Lindsay," he stated in steely tone, his eyes hard as flint and his mouth twisted into a bitter smile. This had always been her go-to jab. "Don't forget how you tried that bullshit with me years ago and the result of it." Lindsay swallowed thickly and averted her gaze as she knew she'd crossed a line five years ago. "I told you then that I would not tolerate you using Gus as a means of controlling me, and I am telling you the same now. Do _not_ make call my lawyer and tell him to enact those papers you signed."

Lindsay swallowed again, and then, seeming to find her spine once more, jutted her chin out as she watched him through narrowed eyes. "The fact remains that Gus could have been sick and you wouldn't have known."

"Again, no," Brian said with a cold smile. "Gus is well aware of the fact that he can call me anytime, day or night, and I will _always_ pick up for him. Had he fallen ill, he would have called me." Brian paused and held up a hand to forestall what he knew would be Lindsay's next tactic. "And before you say it, had he been incapacitated and unable to contact me, Emmett, Ted _and_ Cynthia, all knew how to get a message to me. And since none of them called me this weekend, because _they_ , unlike _you_ , understand the concept of ' _do not call me, I'm going to be busy_ ,' I know there was nothing that couldn't wait until Justin and I got home."

"I do not appreciate being kept out of the loop," Lindsay hissed, her hands clenched into fists at her sides. "I am the mother of your child…"

"And?" Brian asked, arching a disinterested brow; if he'd had a penny for every time he heard those words he'd be…well twice as rich as he was now.

Lindsay gasped, her hand flying to her throat as if utterly offended by his cavalier attitude; but really, what had she expected? Just because he'd shot his sperm into a cup didn't mean that she held a _ny_ rights to _his_ life no matter what warped little fantasy she'd built up in her head since college.

"Lindsay," Brian stated slowly, as if talking to a particularly dense and spoilt child. "Do you remember years ago; when you forced me to play hubby so you and Mel would seem _'_ _hetero'_ enough to get Gus into that school you wanted him to attend?"

Lindsay didn't say anything, but he could see that she wanted to ask what the hell that had to do with their current conversation; so Brian pressed on.

"You said then, that back in college, you'd always imagined us doing that one day and then asked if I had done the same," Brian reminded her; Lindsay flushed a dull red and looked away. "And I told you then, without hesitation, that no, I had not."

The color in Lindsay's face deepened to a fire-engine red at the reminder; she crossed her arms over her chest and stared back at him, a mutinous frown on her face.

"That hasn't changed," Brian continued, rolling his lips between his teeth as he stared right back without an ounce of remorse. "You are not now, nor will you _ever_ be, my wife. And the only person I answer to is a bitchy, little, pregnant blond who is currently driving me crazy with his fucking food cravings. The key word in that sentence being _**HIS**_ not _her_. I don't answer to you; never have and never will."

Lindsay looked away, but not before he saw the hurt tears in her eyes; but Brian remained unmoved by them as he'd seen that ploy in action one too many times in the past and he sure as hell wasn't falling for them again.

"Now, if there isn't anything else," Brian said with a condescending smile as he rocked on his heels. "I need to get to the police station; and I have a whole slew of other things to do before picking Justin up from his mother's."

Brian spun on his heel and walked back to his door; he opened it and then paused to give Lindsay a hard look before he slid inside.

"Oh, and Linds," he said with a baleful frown. "Stop blowing up my phone when you can't get a hold of me; I have clients that need to know that they can contact me if they are ever in a lurch. I don't need you filling up my voicemail like an angry fishwife trying to track down her unfaithful husband. You have a wife; fucking pay attention to her before you lose your meal ticket."

And with that, Brian slid into his car, started it and drove away without looking back.

**… … … … …**

Sighing, Brian opened the door and stepped into the precinct; the last thing he wanted to do was meet with the police today. He'd rather be wrapped up in a cocoon with Justin, blocking out the real world for a few more hours; but sadly, the real world waited for no man, and Detective Nakamura insisted that it was important.

Rubbing the back of his neck, he walked towards the reception desk, but stopped as a familiar face made his way over to him. Smiling at Carl, Brian changed direction and held out his hand. Carl wisely took it as he knew that Brian, unlike Justin, would never tolerate something more touchy-feely in public.

"Carl," Brian greeted, shaking the other man's hand. "Aren't you supposed to be retired? What are you doing here?"

"I'd stopped by to talk to some of the guys today when Tak told me you'd be coming in," Carl said, looking over to the officer sitting at the reception desk and waved his hand; Brian assumed that was some preplanned signal to let the man know that Brian was here based on the way he picked up the phone right after. "Figured I'd stick around and see if you wanted any company."

"I…" Brian started, intending to refuse his offer, but then paused as he reconsidered it; the police had come a long way since the Stockwell days, but Brian still didn't trust most cops. "That would be great; I'm a little worried about what they found."

"Where's Justin?" Carl nodded, well aware of Brian's distrust for most of his former colleagues. "I'm surprised he let you come without him.

"He's at Mother Taylor's for her biweekly family luncheon," Brian said, huffing when Carl raised his brows in surprise. "I figured with everything that happened last week, he should just have a quiet day with his mom and sister."

"You did tell him…" Carl asked with a small disapproving frown.

"Yes, yes, he knows where I am," Brian said, cutting the other man off. "I didn't want it to get back to him through a different source like last time. I'm lucky I kept my balls after he calmed down enough to think things through."

"I hate to say, 'I told you so,' but…" Carl smirked, laughing when Brian scowled.

"But you're going to do it anyways," Brian said, a sardonic twist to his mouth.

Carl shrugged unrepentantly and laughed again. Brian rolled his lips between his teeth and looked away, not wanting to show his own amusement. Carl had indeed warned him that not sharing the details with Justin would come back and bite him on the ass. But, he'd expected his reckoning to come at the hands of an irate blond demanding answers; not a panicked blond sitting in a hospital bed, shaking like a leaf as he clung to Brian.

Christ, he could kill Michael for that.

That's not to say the anger didn't come later; it did as his ass could fully attest to. Justin had been livid and proceeded to take it out on him in the most delicious of ways. Brian didn't bother to tell Justin that his 'punishment' wasn't really much of one in his eyes; although, Justin was likely aware of that fact.

"So, did you talk to Mikey about his…indiscretion," Brian asked, looking around to see if anyone was paying them any mind, and then tempering his words anyway.

"Yeah," Carl huffed, a disgruntled look on his face as he stared off to the side; a sure sign that the affable man was still pissed at Michael's indiscreet words on Tuesday. "Not only did he get it from me, but he got it from Em _and_ Deb; and then Tak had a go; Michael was lucky that Tak didn't simply haul his ass in for obstruction of justice."

"Would that have really been considered…" Brian asked with a frown.

"Not likely," Carl said, a small mischievous twinkle in his eyes. "But a day or two in jail while they figured that out might have done him some good. However, Tak didn't want to muddy the investigation with the arrest. As it was, Tak _did_ explain to him, in small, pointed words, just how unhappy he was about it and told him in detail what Michael could expect if he did something so foolish again." Carl paused, looked around and then grinned. "He nearly pissed his pants when Tak told him that he'd haul him in if he continued to interfere with an open and ongoing police investigation."

Brian chuckled at that image; the part of him that was still fuming over Michael's actions deriving pleasure from his former friend's current predicament. It served him right; and couldn't have happened to a better person. Brian opened his mouth to respond and then closed it as young, brunet, uniformed cop walked up to them.

"Hey, Carl," The officer said before turning to Brian with a polite smile. "Detective Nakamura will see you now, Mr. Taylor-Kinney."

"I'll take him back, Bert," Carl said, nodding to the young officer, who in turn, nodded back and went on his way. "Shall we?"

Carl turned down the hall and led Brian deeper into the precinct, nodding to, and exchanging greetings with, officers and detectives along the way; until they came to a room filled with cubicles. Carl strode up to the last one on the right and knocked on the side of the wall. Detective Nakamura looked up, a phone pressed to his ear and held up one finger as he recited a bunch information that he wanted before he hung up. He stood and held out his hand.

"Mr. Taylor-Kinney," Nakamura greeted, shaking his hand firmly before turning to Carl and doing the same with him. "Carl."

"Please, call me Brian," Brian requested as they followed him into the cubicle.

"Brian then; and please call me Tak," he said as he retook the seat behind his desk. "I'm assuming that with Carl here, you give him permission to hear this information."

"Yes," Brian said, sitting in the plastic chair that sat just to the left of the desk; one that Tak must have pulled over when he heard Brian was there. Carl stood behind him, leaning against the low wall. "Did you find anything?"

"Well, we did gather evidence, and dusted for fingerprints, but we're still working on the findings; and I'm not at liberty to discuss it at the moment," Tak said, shuffling a few things on his desk and setting the files aside. "What I did want to ask about, was an item that we found that seemed out of place; but it could potentially be something that belongs to either you or your husband. I wanted to see if you could identify it for me."

"Sure," Brian shrugged; anything to help with apprehending this fucker. He wanted to make sure that this asshole stayed as far away from his husband as possible; or he wouldn't be held responsible for his actions. "What do you need?"

"While searching for evidence," Tak said, opening up a safe to his left-hand side. "My team found this." He pulled out a plastic bag that held a laminated picture of Justin and set it on the desk in front of Brian. "It looks like something you or your husband might do to salvage a fraying article, but something about it caught my investigator's eye. Does this look familiar to you at all?"

"No," Brian said, looking at it closely. He knew that picture. It was the one that had been printed in that art magazine Lindsay had shown him just before Justin left for New York. God, how he hated that magazine. "I have never seen that in my life; I mean, I know what article that's from, as it was the picture that went along that damned article that had Justin moving to New York. But I know that I don't own anything like it. And while Justin does have a scrapbook, it's not kept at the loft, nor would it contain anything like this. Although, I can have him stop by here when he's next in town if you'd like."

"That would be appreciated," Tak said, nodding as he jotted something down in his notebook. "If for no other reason than to eliminate him from the list."

Brian nodded and then looked down at the picture.

"I don't understand something, though; this picture is at least five years old," Brian said, noting the frayed edges; as if it had been handled over and over throughout the years. "And judging by the wear and tear of the photo, it's not been cut out recently."

"That would be my assessment of it as well," Tak said, leaning forward to study the photo with Brian. "What's your question?"

"If they've had this for that long," Brian said, leaning back into his chair with an assessing look. "Why are we just learning of this now? Why is it happening now?"

Tak nodded and picked up the bag; he stared at the photo for a moment and then put it back into the safe and closed it. He turned back around with a serious look on his face. "My guess is that your husband's stalker was happy to watch him from afar during that time; the fantasy sustained him and he didn't need anything more. But… _but_ something has happened recently that's forced him or her out of hiding. Something's happened to make him or her escalate. When did you start noticing something was off?"

Brian averted his gaze and thought about it for a few seconds.

"Not long after we found out that Justin was pregnant," he said slowly, his lips compressing into a thin line. "It started gradually, with the feeling of being watched or someone being there; but when you turn to look, no one is there. The loft is the first physical sign that we've gotten; or well the first that we've noticed."

"That could do it," Tak nodded thoughtfully, rubbing his hand over his jaw. "Stalkers live off of their fantasies and they feed on the crumbs and scraps of their target's attention to power the illusion. When something comes along that shatters that illusion, which could very well be the tangible evidence of your union through your husband's pregnancy, it could send them reeling. And then, you get events like the loft."

"So, this asshole could have been following Justin around for five years?" Brian asked, shuddering at the idea that this asshole had been following Justin around for that long.

"Potentially," Tak said, linking his hands behind his head as he sat back into his chair; he cocked his to the side and stretched his lips thin effectuating a doubtful moue. "But not likely. The fixation could have occurred then, but the perpetrator probably wasn't following him around at that point. It might have just been a case of the perp following your husband through articles, such as the one the photo is from. But over time, that wasn't enough to feed the obsession."

He sat back up and stared Brian plainly in the face; and that was one of the things he liked best about the guy. He cut through the bullshit and got to the heart of a matter without fancy words or pussyfooting around. He stated it plainly and simply and just got the fucking job done, no muss, no fuss.

"So maybe then, he starts to show up at your husband's public appearances," Tak continued with a pensive frown. "It gives the perp a chance to watch and observe the object of their obsession, and if they happen to get a random word or smile in, then all the better for them." Tak paused to consider his words. "Eventually, the perp would likely try to find ways to insinuate themselves into their obsession's life to get even more of a fix. It happens so slowly over time that you don't even notice until one day, something makes the perp snap and you get what happened at the loft."

"So what do we do now?" Brian asked, uneasy that this asshole was still at large and could get to his husband easily; he'd never done helpless well.

"Beef up your security," Tak suggested with a shrug. "Change all your codes and make sure you, and _only_ you and your husband, have them; don't give them out. Even if you trust the people you usually give them to; you don't know how the perp got that information yet. This will prevent it from being leaked again. I'd even suggest that you not use your typical cleaning services or any company that might have the access codes for the moment; at least not until we catch up to the perp. Keep an eye out and report anything suspicious. Make sure you don't go anywhere alone if you can help it. That's about all you can do at the moment."

"Bodyguards?" Brian asked, ignoring the pained groan behind him

"That's up to you," Tak grinned. "It couldn't hurt to beef up the security patrols around your house at the very least. It is a bit remote."

Brian rolled his lips under and nodded. He had been kicking around the idea of hiring a private security team for the past few days, and Tak made a very good point about the house. As beautiful as it was, their nearest neighbors were about half a mile down the road. Justin loved the remoteness of the property, but it sure didn't help them in their current situation. Nodding to himself he looked back at Tak.

"Was there anything else?" Brian asked, anxious to get on the road to Mother Taylor's and see, and just hold, his husband.

"That was it for now," Tak said, standing as Brian did the same and held out his hand. "But I'll call you when we have more information; and, of course, feel free to call if anything comes up or you if remember anything additional about the loft."

"Thank you," Brian said as he shook the man's hand once more. "You've given me a lot to think about."

"Thank you for coming in," Tak nodded, waiting until he and Carl had turned away to sit back down at his desk and pull a stack of files over to him.

Brian followed Carl out of the maze of cubicles and halls, his mind mulling over everything that he had learned and wondering just how much of it he should tell Justin. On the one hand, Justin needed the information so that he'd be alert to his surroundings; but on the other hand, if he knew just how long this has been going on, it would stress him out, and _that_ wasn't good for him or Sunbeam. It was a tough call.

"Please, tell me you aren't going to hire a bodyguard to follow Justin around," Carl said, breaking the silence between them as they passed the reception desk. "You know as well as I do, that Justin will have a shit fit when he finds out."

"If he does, he does; he'll just have to deal," Brian stated implacably, even if he still hadn't decided if he was going to hire a private security team. He was leaning towards yes though; he'd just have to resign himself to dealing with his husband's wrath at a later date. "I will do anything – _anything_ Carl – to make sure that he's safe."

"Oh, joy," Carl grumbled as they headed out the door; sighing at the drama the man knew this would likely cause. "I can't wait for the fireworks to start."


	44. BONUS! (February 11)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this was originally supposed to be the next vignette; but, then the scene with Lindsay came to me, and I just had to write it. But, I also didn't want to scrap this one either, so you get two today.

**BONUS!**

**February 10**

Brian slowly eased his way out of bed, his eyes on his sleeping husband the whole time; not that he was too worried about waking Justin up. He slept like the dead. But it would just be his luck that tonight would be the one night that Justin would wake up to use the bathroom or to get a drink of water or to run off and find those odious little snack cakes that he loved so much; the latter of which would completely foil his plans.

He'd done everything he could think of to talk Justin out of eating those damned Twinkies including, but limited to – logic, sex, persuasion, sex, guilt, sex, manipulation, and more sex and nothing was getting through to him. So it had finally come down to this – if you can't beat them, join them.

But only up to a point; he did have standards, which didn't include mass-produced, Styrofoam-textured sponge cake filled with a grainy cream center.

Finally making his way to the edge of the bed, Brian quickly slipped out of it and headed to the bedroom door. He opened it slowly, careful to make as little sound as possible and then slid out of the room. Closing the door behind him just as silently as he'd opened it, Brian walked over to banister, where his housecoat lay.

Slipping it on, Brian headed down the hall to his Sonny Boy's room; he'd hidden the package that he'd received at Kinnetik a little over a week ago in there for one reason alone. Justin would never dream of going into Gus' room without his permission. And since his Sonny Boy was a reluctant participant in this venture, Brian knew that Gus would find a reason to keep Justin at bay while Brian relocated the box.

Opening the door to Gus' room, he flipped on the light, walked over to the closet and pulled out the box. Setting it on his Sonny Boy's bed, he opened the top and smirked at the six smaller boxes; pulling one out, he stared at the twelve individually wrapped cakes and snickered. They were perfect.

Setting the smaller box aside, he closed up the larger package and stuck it back into Gus' closet. Closing the door, he picked up the small box of cakes, walked out of the room and turned the lights out, closing that door behind him as well. And then, with his contraband tucked under his arm, he strode down the hall to Justin's studio as that was the only place left that he could think of where those damned Twinkies would be hiding.

At least in the house; and if they weren't there, he didn't know where the hell they could be. But he was pretty sure Justin wouldn't want to be trudge outside to get his fix in this weather, so the studio it was.

You see, when it became obvious that Justin wasn't going to listen to reason when it came to his Twinkies, Brian had hatched a brilliant plan. One that had, admittedly, taken much more time than he'd expected to put into motion; but a brilliant plan nonetheless. He'd done a little research, and then dragged Emmett into the scheme when he was having trouble finding what he needed, and came up with a healthier alternative to the sponge cakes of doom.

He'd hired a baker to make a similar snack item that should, in theory, look like, taste like and smell like those stupid Twinkies his husband so loved to eat. But these would be made with organic, all-natural ingredients without all the preservatives, (it wasn't like they lasted long enough to go stale anyways). And then, he had said baker wrap them individually and send them to him, so that he could swap out the mass-produced crap hiding somewhere in his house.

He'd spent the night before Justin was in the hospital, and the nights since he'd come home, looking in every conceivable hiding place for them. (Or well, the nights they weren't staying at the Penn that is.) But he couldn't find anything in the usual places. And that left the one place he typically avoided going into without Justin's permission as it was his sanctuary.

That made it the perfect hiding place, come to think of it; sneaky little twat.

Opening the door, Brian walked in and closed it before turning on the lights. He walked over to the table and set the box down and then looked around. If he were Justin, where would he hide the Twinkies. He looked over at the cabinets lining the walls. That would be a good place, but a little too obvious; especially after the linen closet incident. So, Brian was going to say no to those.

He looked at the drawers that held his paints, and briefly considered that; if Justin took them out of the box, he could line one of the drawers with them. But he immediately dismissed the idea as there was to much potential for contamination. And Justin would never compromise his or Sunbeam's health just for a hiding place. He dismissed the drawers and cabinets by the sink for the same reason; as that's where he stored his solvents.

And then he looked over at the far wall, where the cans of paint for Sunbeam's room were stacked. He was about to dismiss that idea as well, but then paused to reconsider it. That had possibilities. If he'd emptied and cleaned the can thoroughly, it could work. Walking over to the stack, Brian studied them, wondering if it was worth lifting and opening each one to see if Justin had indeed used one of the canisters.

And that's when he noticed that one of the cans on the left, about halfway down was different from the others. He couldn't put his finger on just what, but the lettering seemed a bit off somehow and the color wasn't quite right. Kneeling in front of the stack, Brian smirked as he touched the one that seemed off, and then touched the one next to it; the paper was just slightly different.

The label of the one that had caught his eye wasn't nearly as glossy as the other labels. And from there, he noticed other subtle differences, like the fonts were close, but didn't quite measure up and the color of the label was just a few degrees off.

Pulling down the cans on top of it, Brian pulled the paint can out of the pile and then pulled a screwdriver out of his pocket. He pried it open and smirked. _Bingo._ Sneaky little twat. He'd gotten an empty can from the craft store and then put together a label that looked like the others; likely not thinking the slight differences would stand out as much as they did. He had forgotten one thing – design and ad copy were Brian's life. And he was well versed in the subtle differences in hues, as well as the minute differences in fonts.

Pulling out a plastic bag from his pocket, Brian dumped the Twinkies into it and then grabbed the box he'd set on the table and emptied it into the container. Closing it, Brian put it back in the stack, and then positioned them all in the same exact order, just in Justin had paid attention to that when he stacked them.

Pocketing the screwdriver, Brian picked up the box and the bag of confiscated Twinkies and walked swiftly over to the door. He turned off the lights and then opened the door, stepped out and closed it behind him. Walking back to Gus' room, Brian stored the stolen Twinkies in the closet for later disposal and then left, heading back to his room.

Taking off his housecoat, he threw it back over the banister and then quietly entered the bedroom, swiftly crossing the floor to his bed. He was just about to slide back under the covers for a few hours more sleep when Justin suddenly stirred and popped his head up; he blinked at Brian lazily, nearly scaring him near half to death.

"Jesus fuck, Justin," Brian whispered, his heart hammering in his chest. "You scared the shit out of me."

"Where did you go?" Justin asked sleepily; Brian studied his face, but didn't detect any suspicion in his husband's gaze.

"I just went to the study," Brian said, shivering as he slid under the covers, now realizing just how cold he was. "I woke up with an idea for the Aster Avalon account; and I wanted to email it to myself before I forgot. What are you doing awake?"

"Cold without you," Justin mumbled, scooting closer to Brian. "I would have gotten up, but I figured it would be even colder outside the blankets."

"Well, I'm back; but you probably won't want to cuddle with me just yet," Brian said, sighing an internal breath of relief to hear that Justin hadn't discovered his subterfuge. "I'm sure I must be freezing."

"Don't care," Justin yawned, scooting right up against Brian and wrapping around Brian like a limpet. "Need cuddles."

"I do love how your vocabulary deteriorates to that of a six-year-old's when you're half asleep," Brian snickered, yelping when Justin pinched his ass.

"Fuck off," Justin muttered as he buried his nose into Brian's neck.

"Now, now, now; none of that," Brian mock admonished, wrapping his arms around his husband. "Little boys with dirty mouths don't get what they want."

"Not what you said the other night," Justin sing-songed, snickering at Brian's chagrined expression; well, what could he say; the brat was right.

"Point," Brian conceded; kissing Justin on the tip of his nose. "I rescind all previous statements. Feel free to talk dirty to me anytime you like. "

"Well, with that in mind, how about now?" Justin purred, rolling Brian onto his back and climbing on top of him.

"Now, would be very, very good, Sunshine," Brian purred, moaning as Justin slid his hand down into his sweats and wrapped his fingers around his dick. "Very, very good indeed."


	45. February 12

**February 12**

Justin walked down the street; his face tipped up and enjoyed the feel of the pale, winter sun on it as he and Brian made their way back to Kinnetik, hand-in-hand. They were just getting back from an early lunch at the bistro down the street as they were still avoiding the diner. Not because they were still mad at Deb or avoiding her, but because they _were_ avoiding Michael as Brian was still in ' _kill Mikey on sight'_ mode.

Or, at least Justin was avoiding him.

He really did _not_ want to be hauling his ass down to the precinct to bail his husband out of jail if Michael played true to form and started whining about Brian being unfair to him. Because, of course, Mikey didn't do anything, but tell the truth; and it wasn't his fault that Justin was overly sensitive.

Yes, because apparently, panicking because you've just found out that you potentially have a stalker, who is also targeting your husband, was overreacting. Or, so the Liberty Rumor Mill said. Justin didn't really know _for certain_ that Michael had said any of that as he hadn't seen him since their little showdown at the same bistro that he and Brian had just eaten at.

But, he could fully believe it to be true; it certainly sounded like Michael's usual brand of passive-aggressive bullshit.

Pressing his other hand to his stomach, Justin smile as Brian leaned down and kissed his temple, and decided to forget about the asshole. He just wanted to enjoy these last last few minutes with his husband before Brian had to meet with the Aster Avalon representatives and Justin headed back home to finish his last piece for the show.

He tipped his head back and kissed Brian lightly on the lips, humming when Brian stopped and deepened it, his arms wrapping securely around Justin. He sighed and wrapped his hand around the base of Brian's neck and enjoyed the impromptu make-out session, ignoring the people grumbling as they walked around them.

Tough cookies; he had better things to do.

"What was that for?" Justin asked as he pulled away, a small smile on his lips.

"You know me," Brian said, his tongue planted firmly in his cheek. "I never could resist making a public display of the most beautiful man in Pittsburgh."

"And I'm not bad either, right?" Justin said with a self-deprecating smile, a hint of amusement in his eyes.

"Twat," Brian snorted, shaking his head, and then sobered. "I do believe that you have surpassed me, Sunshine. You are truly the most beautiful man I have ever seen; especially now that you're carrying, Sunbeam. I don't stand a chance."

"Wow," Justin teased, fighting back a wide smile. "What _did_ they put in your drink at the bistro. Are you sure your dick is still attached because that was particularly lesbionic of… mmmph."

Justin giggled as Brian claimed his lips once more, kissing him into submission and cutting off anything else that he might say.

"Mouthy twat," Brian complained as he pulled away and wrapped his arm around Justin's shoulder, and they continued walking down the street.

"You like my mouth," Justin smirked, wiggling his eyebrows, eliciting a loud bark of laughter from his husband.

"Oh, I do, Sunshine," Brian said, his eyes dancing with mirth. "I really, _really_ do. How about, when we get back to the office, you demonstrate just why I love your mouth so much and I will be vocally appreciative of your every effort."

"Asshole," Justin laughed, wrapping his arm around Brian's waist. "Only you can go from complimenting me in one breath and soliciting me for a blow job in the next."

"Oh, come on, Sunshine," Brian said, all faux innocence. "I was just looking out for the baby." Justin stared at him suspiciously at that non sequitur. "After all, I read somewhere that having an extra helping of protein is beneficial…"

Justin squawked and smacked his laughing husband on the arm. Huffing, Justin rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath about irritating husbands who need to behave if they are expecting him to do anything with their dicks. Brian just smirked; a look that said, _'please, Sunshine; like you can keep your hands off of this.'_

Sadly, that was the truth; with his hormones raging the way they had been lately, denying Brian anything was moot. He'd just be punishing himself.

Sighing in exasperation, Justin shook his head and continued to walk down the street towards the office. Brian took his hand and fell into step at his side, a content smile on his face. Justin grinned and turned to him to say something, but whatever he was going to say was forever lost when he caught sight of Michael in the distance.

"Jesus," Justin cursed in a hushed voice, his eyes widening as they fell onto a bruised and battered Michael. "What the fuck happened to him?"

Brian looked over, his lips compressing into a thin line as the lit on Michael, but he remained suspiciously silent. Justin cast a wary look in Brian's direction and then looked back at Michael, who had turned his head in their direction. His left eye was blackened and there looked to be a shadow of a bruise on his right jaw line, and there was a scrape of some kind on his right cheek as well.

But most telling was the way he limped and held his body – as if there were bruises or injuries in places that couldn't be seen.

Narrowing his eyes, he turned back to Brian, vividly recalling the time he'd hit Michael at Mel's and Lindsay's anniversary party. Brian just watched his friend with an impassive look, but Justin could see the rage that simmered beneath the surface. A rage that likely wouldn't abate any time soon unless it found a target.

"Please tell me you didn't do that," Justin said, a quiet look of rapprochement on his face; and not because he cared one way or the other that Michael had gotten his just dues and had his ass handed to him.

No, it had to with the fact that Brian let himself get so angry that he'd ended up doing something he would eventually regret. Maybe not today; and tomorrow wasn't likely either. But eventually, he would calm down and then he'd beat himself up for giving into the temptation of physical violence; and then he'd start comparing himself to his father and it would just snowball into a fucking mess from there.

"I didn't do it," Brian parroted solemnly.

"Brian." Justin turned and forced his husband to look at him.

"No, seriously, I didn't," Brian said, realizing that Justin was legitimately concerned. "When I left, he was still standing without a mark on him. I didn't trust myself to stop once I got going; so, I made sure to keep my hands to myself. Mostly."

Justin nodded and took him at his word; but there was something lying just under that confession that had him looking back at his husband suspiciously. He just knew there was more to it than that. Crossing his arms over his chest he continued to stare at Brian until finally he sighed explosively and caved.

"Of course," he said a bit too nonchalantly for Justin to believe it. "I did conveniently forget that I brought Emmett with me when I left."

"Brian!" Justin exclaimed, slapping his hand against his forehead and staring at his unrepentant husband with no little exasperation. Brian just shrugged.

"I am not responsible for that Queen's actions, Sunshine," Brian stated firmly, arching a brow when Justin went to argue. "And frankly, if I could have done it myself without worrying that I would have murdered the little twerp, he would look far worse than that. I will not condemn Em for the actions I wish that I could have taken at the time."

Justin huffed, but then let it go, knowing that Brian wasn't likely to show any kind of remorse for Michael's predicament any time soon.

"I can't believe that Em…" Justin said, trailing off when Brian snorted.

"I can," Brian said as he reached for Justin's hand and led him down the street once more. "He was an out and proud queer in the middle of the Bible belt. You don't survive something like that without some serious ass skills." Brian paused, his mouth screwing up at the unintentional double entrende; and then tossed a tongue in cheek smirk Justin's way. Justin just rolled his eyes as they turned the corner. "From what I've heard, be glad he didn't have a gun with him."

"Brian…" Justin said, trailing off again when the implications of that last statement hit him. "Em wouldn't…"

"Kill him?" Brian finished with a serious look, pausing by Kinnetik's door to face Justin. "No, but he sure as hell would have made him hurt." Justin stared at his husband incredulously. "You forget, Sunshine; he thinks of you as a brother. He most definitely would do whatever he felt was necessary to keep you safe."

"I swear to God," Justin sighed and then opened the door and stepped into the lobby. "I can't take either of you anywhere."

"Deal with it, Sunshine," Brian said, following him through the halls to their shared office. "As I don't see it changing anytime soon. And be glad it was Em and not Blake that got hold of Mikey; as I'm certain we'd be scraping Mikey off the floor if Blake hadn't been preoccupied with Luc."

Justin winced at that thought; everyone thought that it was either Justin or Emmett that were the biggest instigators in their little trio. But in reality, Blake was usually the one that was dragging _them_ behind _him_. He really would have hated to see what Michael looked like had Blake confronted him.

"Fuck," Justin cursed as they walked into the office. "No wonder Deb was on the warpath…"

"Don't make excuses for her, Sunshine," Brian said implacably, skirting his desk to look through the files that Yasmeen had set on his desk in his absence. "Her doing exactly as she did on Friday is the reason Mikey thinks that he can get away with this shit. True, I didn't help matters before you and I met; but most of the blame lies at her feet as she was his sole influence right up until the time that he was fourteen. And trust me, a lot of his behavioral issues were set in stone by that point."

"Jesus, what is it with people telling me that this week? I'm not offering up an excuse for her behavior, just an explanation," Justin huffed; and he wasn't.

Deb had always been one of Michael's worst enablers, followed closely by Ben. He wasn't excusing her behavior; it was that he could just see why she might have flown off the handle before asking questions if she'd seen Michael's face just after it occurred.

"You know as well as I do that once she saw Michael the next day," Justin continued with a frown. "That she would have remembered your confrontation the day before; _and_ also remembered the time that you hit him at the munchers' party; and that she would instantly jump to conclusions. It's not the first time she's done so; and even with what I said to her on Friday, I doubt it would be the last."

"Sure it is, Sunshine," Brian smirked, trying to lighten the moment."We all know that it's because you have such a soft heart that you can't help defending mothers, babies and cute fluffy animals everywhere."

"Fuck you very much," Justin snorted as he rounded the desk and stood between Brian's splayed legs. "In your dreams maybe; everyone knows that I'm the badass in this relationship."

Brian slowly turned his head and stared at Justin with an _'are you fucking with me'_ look. Justin just smirked and then dropped to his knees in front of his husband; and anything Brian might have said after that was lost to a groan as Justin pulled him out of his pants and did indeed show him just why he loved his mouth.


	46. February 13

**February 13**

Justin walked down the bread aisle headed for the far end where all the snack cakes, Danishes and pies were located. While he had come to the store with the purpose of picking up a few things he needed to make jambalaya tonight, he also knew that he was running low on his Twinkies and decided to pick up a box or two while he was there. Even if that meant finding a second hiding place for them.

One could never have enough Twinkies in his opinion.

Halting the cart in front of the designated sweet breads area, Justin looked for his Twinkies and huffed when he realized that they were stacked on the top shelf. Again. Frowning, he stared at the box that was just out of his reach and cursed under his breath; if he didn't know any better, he'd swear that Brian had somehow convinced the store manager to move them to the top shelf just to thwart Justin.

But it would be highly paranoid of him to think that; and, well, he didn't think that even Brian was that persuasive. There was likely some other explanation for moving them to the top shelf, but didn't they realize that shorter people needed Twinkies too!

Biting his bottom lip, Justin looked around to see if there was someone who could help him, but it was just his luck that for once, the aisle was empty. But that didn't matter to him as he would get his damned Twinkies one way or the other, even if he had to find something to knock them down with. But first things first, he should really just try standing on his tip toes and reaching them on his own.

Pressing one hand firmly against one of the shelves, Justin reached up, standing precariously on his toes and cursed when he felt his center of gravity shift, nearly toppling him into the shelves. Dropping back down onto his heels, you would have thought he'd learned from the last time, but no, he just had to try it again. And then Justin shuddered, vividly recalling the last time he'd tried doing this and the way he'd nearly fallen over. That had scared the shit out of him. In fact, if hadn't been for that guy, he would have…

Justin frowned, rubbing his arms as the memory of that day came back to him; how could he have forgotten that? It had seemed so weird then, but now that the loft had been broken into, it really stood out as odd.

 

_Justin sighed and looked at the boxes of Twinkies with a forlorn look; hadn't these been lower the last time he'd been there? He could have sworn that they'd been on the fourth shelf, not all the way at the top. Growling under his breath, Justin stood there and stared at the offending boxes, trying to figure out the best way to get them down._

_He really hated when the store was reorganized; it ended up with him walking all over the fucking store because things weren't where they were supposed to be. And that meant wasting precious time that he could be using to finish Sunbeam's room or working on the pieces for his show. Didn't they have better things to do than to confuse their shoppers?_

_But obviously not, as he was stuck here, being deprived of the one thing that made this whole pregnancy bit easier to deal with, because some asshole thought they'd better on the top shelf; and it wasn't fair._

_Well, maybe if he stood on his tiptoes, he could just reach them without having to find some tall person to grab them for him, looking like an idiot while they did so. Holding onto the shelf, Justin stretched up on his tiptoes and could just about reach them, but couldn't get a good grip on the box. Instead he kept knocking them further back. Growling under his breath, he stretched as far as he could and then started batting at the bottom of the box, hoping to nudge it off the shelf and into his waiting hands._

_But just as he'd managed to push the box forward enough to knock it off, his feet slipped out from under him, and Justin had a split second to panic as he felt himself pitch forward. Time seemed to slow as he teetered on his toes and he was bracing himself against the inevitable impact of the floor against his knees, or worse, his belly, when he was pulled back against something firm and solid._

_Scrabbling on his feet, Justin sighed with relief as strong arms wrapped around his middle and pulled him further against a firm, very male chest allowing him to get his feet back under him. Exhaling explosively, Justin sank back into his rescuer's grip and just stood there, knees weak, trying to get his breath back. That could have been a nasty spill; and fuck, if anything had happened to Sunbeam…God, he didn't know what he would have done if Sunbeam had gotten hurt all because he was too proud to ask someone for help._

_Not to mention how Brian would have reacted to the fall; fuck, he would have wrapped Justin up in so much swaddling, that Justin would never see the light of day until well after the baby was born. And Justin would have let him, as already the guilt was setting in. He knew better than this; he knew that his balance was off these days and that he was having trouble doing things and should have asked for was nothing wrong with asking for help._

_Fuck, how many times had he told Brian that very thing?_

_Still trembling, Justin opened his eyes and was just about to thank his savior; when he was suddenly pulled further into the man's embrace and felt the man's nose bury it's way into the hair next to his ear. He stiffened as the man inhaled deeply and groaned. **What the actual fuck?** Was this guy getting off on him…Justin shuddered at the thought, especially when the guy murmured in his ear, "God, you feel so good."_

_Gasping, Justin froze, not quite believing what he heard; the guy froze as well, and must have realized that he'd said that out loud rather than thought it as he swore under his breath. Justin swallowed, his heart hammering as he tried to break the other man's hold, but his rescuer, now captor, just squeezed him once more, and whispered, "you need to be more careful; we wouldn't want anything to happen to you."_

_And then the man abruptly let him go and shoved him lightly away from him; not enough to knock him over, but enough to disorientate him. Justin grabbed onto the shelf and the turned around to see if he recognized the man. Unfortunately, all he saw was the man's back as he swiftly turned the corner. Justin hurried over to the end of the aisle, but judging by the slap of feet on tile, he doubted he'd see anything._

_And sure enough as he got the end of the aisle, all he could see was a figure in black hurriedly making his way out the door. And then the guy was gone and there was really nothing Justin could do. Turning around, Justin walked back to his cart, forgetting all about his Twinkies and hurriedly made his way to the checkout counter. He needed to leave now.  
_

 

Coming back to himself, Justin's frown deepened and he couldn't help feeling unsettled by the memory. In fact, he couldn't believe that he'd forgotten about the incident in the first place given how weird and out of place it had been; but then, he'd likely wrote it off as some weirdo or former trick that decided to get fresh with a cute blond and didn't think of it again.

But now, with the loft break in, and the things that he'd learned from Michael, that incident took a more sinister note. What if that had been the stalker? And what if he'd been following Justin around the store? What if he saw that as an opportunity to get closer to Justin and… Justin shuddered again, his hands trembling as he stared blankly down the end of the aisle.

_What if he was here now?_

Inhaling sharply, Justin clenched his hands into fists and looked around without really seeing anything, his heart picking up in tempo as he thought of all the times he'd felt like he'd been watched. And then there was that weird sense of déjà vu that had been following him around, those times when he'd thought he'd seen someone familiar, but couldn't place them. How many times had he felt the hand of a stranger on him as he passed by, and how many times had that stranger been the stalker?

Rubbing his hands over his arms, Justin couldn't help the chill that flooded his body; that the stalker could have gotten that close to him and he wouldn't have even known it, freaked him out. And if the stalker could do that, what was to stop him from grabbing Justin off the street one day? Scrubbing his hand over his face, Justin reached in his coat to grab his phone; he just needed to hear Brian's voice right now before he completely freaked himself out and had another anxiety attack; and then he nearly screamed as he heard a voice near his ear.

"Are you okay, sir?" the voice asked; Justin whirled around, his heart pounding as he stared at the youth, his mind going into overdrive.

And then it calmed as logic kicked in and Justin realized that it couldn't be the stalker or, at the very least, couldn't have been his assailant. First of all, the kid was far too tall; nearly Brian's height and the stalker was closer to his. And the build was wrong; not to mention this kid couldn't have been more than seventeen and his voice wasn't right. It didn't have that ring of maturity that the other had.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Justin said, trying to shrug his panic off. "Just gave myself a bit of a fright when I was trying to reach something on the top shelf. I slipped a bit." He gestured to his stomach. "My center of gravity is a bit off right now."

"I can grab it for you if you'd like," the boy, Peter it said on his name tag, offered.

"That would be great, if you could," Justin said as he moved away from the shelf. "If you could just grab me two boxes of those Twinkies. Thanks."

"Here you go, sir," Peter said, handing Justin the boxes. "Was there anything else you needed help finding?"

"No, thanks," Justin said with a weak smile. "This was the last item on my list. Thank you, again."

And with that Justin nodded at the boy and walked away; but once again, he couldn't shake the feeling of being watched and he didn't like it at all.

**… … … … …**

Justin pulled through the gate at Britin and immediately activated them, watching them close and lock behind him. And then, and only then, did he feel safe. This wasn't something he typically did. In fact, Brian was often getting on his case about leaving the gate open when he was gone, disliking the idea of Justin out here all alone as their nearest neighbors were a good half-mile down the street.

True, Anna and John were often there, and Brian trusted them to keep an eye on Justin; but he also knew they were in and out all day, dealing with their various duties and that it often left the house open to anyone off the street if Justin didn't bother.

He was starting to see his husband's point.

Continuing up the drive, Justin parked and got out of the SUV, smiling at Anna as she came out to help him with the groceries. She had a small disapproving smile on her face a she'd tried to talk Justin into allowing her to do the shopping; stating that it was her job as it was part of her job description. But Justin had waved her off, insisting that he wanted to do it himself. Maybe next time he'd listen and let her go. He didn't feel quite safe there anymore.

"I told you, I could have done this myself," Anna admonished, grabbing a couple of the bags and heading for the door.

"I know, I know," Justin said, rolling his eyes. He swore, his life was filled with more than his fair share of mother hens. "But I wanted to get out and do it myself."

"What you wanted to do was buy more of those disgusting little snack cakes that you like," Anna harrumphed, casting him a knowing look.

Justin just grinned and nodded, "That too."

Anna shook her head. She agreed with Brian on the Twinkies; but unlike Brian, she'd said her piece and washed her hands of it, muttering something about stubborn carriers that never listened to the good sense God gave a goose anyways when it came to their cravings. Justin had just grinned and continued eating his 'disgusting little snack cake' as if she hadn't said a thing.

"Well, then you won't mind if I take these away before they contaminate your kitchen," Justin smirked, grabbing the boxes of Twinkies and making for the door.

"Get out here, you brat," Anna snickered as she began putting the groceries up. "Go hide them before your man gives you hell for them."

"He has to find them first," Justin snickered.

"You aren't nearly as sly as you think you are, my dear," Anna tossed back at him. "If he hasn't found them by now, he will soon enough. Mark my words."

"Ah, but I do like to keep him on his toes," Justin smirked as he walked out the door to Anna's laughter. "He'd be bored otherwise."

Running up the stairs with his contraband, Justin quickly made his way into his studio and closed the door. Walking over to his latest hiding place, an empty paint can in the stack of full cans along the wall, Justin dropped down to his knees and began pulling down the cans until he reached it. Grabbing the can, he reached for the screwdriver on the windowsill and quickly pried it open; and then immediately froze as the cakes came into view. A wide grin spread across his face; it looked like Anna was right.

Pulling out one of the cakes he studied it for a long moment and then chuckled at his husband's ingenuity. Well, there was a reason Brian had won the number of awards he had over the years. But for all his attention to detail there was a small flaw in his plan.

Opening the package, Justin held the supposed Twinkie up in the light; it looked like a Twinkie. He put it up to his nose and sniffed; it smelled like a Twinkie. He took a cautious bite; it tasted like...actually it tasted better than his Twinkies. But, no matter what he thought of it, this was most definitely _not_ a Twinkie.

He'd give Brian this; he was good. He'd thought of almost everything, but for one small detail in the packaging – even the individually wrapped cakes that came in a box had the Hostess brand stamped onto the plastic wrapping. And the very noticeably lacking of a brand stamp told him that this was not one of his Twinkies.

It was some sort of imposter.

A, frankly, very good imposter, and Justin planned on eating every single one of them, but an imposter nonetheless.

Grabbing another one, Justin placed the lid back onto the can and placed it back onto the stack and quickly put the others on top of it. He picked up the boxes of Twinkies and walked over to the door to find yet another hiding place.

But mark his words; he would _definitely_ be getting even with Brian for this.


	47. February 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was hoping to get this up earlier, but real life got in the way. Happy Valentine's Day!

**February 14 – Happy Valentine's Day!**

Brian walked through the door and looked at the living room and sighed; he rolled his eyes as Emmett ran around making last minute changes here and there. When he'd called his friend up to ask him to make up a quick picnic dinner for him and Justin to share tonight, he wasn't expecting this level of crazy. But he really should have as Emmett wasn't one to scrimp on his designs, especially when it came to his Baby.

Frankly Brian would have just been happy with a blanket and a few pillows; a tray of finger foods and a bottle of chilled sparkling cider. But as always, their favorite queen had to make a production out of fucking everything, which is why Brian ended up with this weird [canopy slash tent](https://imgur.com/YDL9hro) thing in his living room.

Although, he had to admit, Emmett really did know what he was doing when it came to creating ambience and Brian knew that Justin would love it. And the latter was more than enough to have him sucking it up and sacrificing his balls for the evening. After everything Justin had been through the past couple of weeks, he could swallow down all his bitter diatribes about commercialism and make it a night husband wouldn't forget.

He hoped the twat appreciated it

Emmett smiled at his creation, and Brian silently gave him points for creating this in so little time, even if the room was covered in [candles](https://imgur.com/0AMPOvX) and [flowers](https://imgur.com/EDLUues). At least he hadn't gone for the clichéd cutesy red and pink, but stuck to blues and purples for the most part. Emmett stooped, adding a minor adjustment to the [picnic area](https://imgur.com/lTMghtp) in front of the tent; which reminded him of a question that he wanted to ask.

"You're sure that he can eat everything that's here?" Brian asked again; he knew he was being anal, but he really didn't want this to come back to haunt them.

"For the dozenth time, Daddy," Emmett said, huffing with exasperation as he lit the fireplace. "Yes, he can eat everything. I made sure that I only bought pasteurized cheeses and double-checked that all foods against the do not eat list that you provided for me." He stood and looked at everything one final time, nodding his head. "Now can I go? Drew and I do have plans tonight."

Brian rolled his lips between his teeth; and just barely refrained from rolling his eyes as well, knowing that protesting that he'd never meant for Emmett to go through such lengths would do him little good. Emmett would do as he saw fit, and woe betide those who stood in his way. So instead he just smirked.

"One, _never_ call me that again," Brian said, shuddering a little even as he did. "Associating you with that word in any connotation makes me shudder; and not in the fun, life-affirming way."

"Yeah, I have to admit that even as I said it I wanted to smack myself," Emmett grimaced, wrinkling his nose as he gathered his things. "And the second?"

"And two, and I mean this in the nicest way possible," Brian smirked, pointing to the front door. "Get the fuck out of my house. My plans for the evening do not include dealing with silly Queens who are making far too much of this than necessary."

"But it's so romantic," Emmett gushed as he looked at the room again; and while Brian could agree with that, and should thank Emmett for all his hard work, that just wasn't him. Now, if Emmett happened to receive a nice little bonus and some pretty bauble in the mail in return; well, it was only suiting for a job well done. "Baby is so going to love it. You did good, Big Bad."

"There is nothing romantic about this, Honeycutt," Brian groused, his skin already started to itch at the thought of this getting around the Avenue. "It is purely practical on my part; we both need to eat and Justin has been tired lately. He doesn't need to be standing on his feet cooking some hour-long dinner right now."

"And, of course, the fact that it's Valentines Day has nothing to do with it," Emmett teased, slinging his bag over his shoulder.

"Absolutely not," Brian denied, crossing his arms over his chest; that was his story and he was sticking to it. His twat had done more than enough damage to his reputation. "Do not even mention that day in my presence. It's just a quiet dinner for me and my husband after a long, busy day. That it fell on Valentine's Day is pure coincidence."

"You keep telling yourself that, Sweetie," Emmett said, reaching over to pat Brian on the cheek; Brian scowled and shoved him away. "But we all know that under that gruff exterior is a closet romantic just waiting to burst out. Now you enjoy your non-romantic, Not-Valentine's Day dinner with your man. I'm going to go home and see what mine has planned for me."

"Fuck off," Brian said, flipping a giggling Emmett off for good measure. "And I better not hear about this from anyone, Honeycutt. If I do, I know who to hunt down."

"My lips are sealed, darling," Emmett called as he headed out the door.

Sneering at the closed door, Brian turned away and knelt down to begin assembling the various foods that Emmett had made for them. To start off, there was a fruit and cheese platter with grapes, apple slices, fig jam, almonds, walnuts, sharp cheddar, herbed goat cheese, marinated feta cubes and gouda; all to be served with water crackers and sourdough baguette chips.

Just something to snack on while he heated up their main dish; which was salmon and crab cake sliders topped with mixed greens, tomatoes and garlic aioli. And it was being served with a mixed green salad with cranberries, orange segments, pecans, blue cheese crumbles and orange-sweet onion vinaigrette. Thankfully, Emmett had paid attention over the years and kept it light on the carbs.

Well, mostly; but he could get rid of the bun for the sliders and avoid the bread chips and crackers on the cheese platter. It was the dessert that was cause for concern as he had a feeling that the little twat would somehow get him to eat some of it.

There were two desserts; because, of course, there was whenever Justin and his infamous sweet tooth were involved. The first was a plate of cheesecake-stuffed, chocolate-covered strawberries that Brian was likely to have nightmares about. Because _'why settle for one or the other when you can have both, I always say.'_ Or so went Emmett's infinite wisdom of all things fattening and bad for your health.

The second was a decadent dark-chocolate-orange mousse that Brian refused to even touch; because he knew that if he did, there would be nothing left for Justin to try. Emmett had done that on purpose, knowing that Brian's one true weakness in this life, outside Justin, was dark chocolate and orange together. Emmett had been especially proud of that, snickering at Brian's glare when he pulled it out his cooler and put it in the refrigerator.

That had been particularly evil of him.

Glancing at the clock, Brian set out the last few items for the cheese and fruit platter, knowing that Justin would soon be emerging from his studio in search for food. And then he smirked when he heard a door open and slam closed as light, quick footsteps headed for the stairs. Right on time. He swore he could set a clock by Justin's stomach.

"Brian?" Justin called as he came down the stairs.

"In here!" Brian called over his shoulder; he looked around once more and then stood, turning to face the door just as Justin came in.

"I was wondering if…" Justin trailed off as he stared at the room, wide-eyed. He spun in a slow, tight circle taking in the flowers and candles, the tent and the food and the lit fireplace just behind Brian, his mouth rounded with surprise. He turned back and faced Brian, staring at him with no little amount of wonder. "Brian?"

"Um…" Brian said, uncertain of how to say it without actually saying it; and then he huffed because fuck it; in for a penny, in for a pound. "Happy Valentine's Day?"

"Brian…" Justin said again, still apparently stunned by the room and everything that came with it. And then a smile slowly spread across his face until he was damn near blinding Brian with it. "Really?"

"No," Brian said sarcastically, rolling his eyes as Justin did a little dance of excitement. "I went through all of this trouble just so we could invite Mikey and Ben over for a lover's…"

"Fuck off," Justin said, but there was little heat to it as he hugged himself with delight and turned in a circle again. "I can't believe you did this!"

"Well," Brian hedged, feeling the need to come clean. "Technically I made Emmett do it. I would have been happy with a simple picnic on the floor with some pillows and a blanket, but simple doesn't seem to be in that Queen's vocabulary."

Justin arched a knowing brow and the expression on his face all but screamed, _'well, duh; like I couldn't have figured that one out on my own.'_

"It was my idea, however; and I did pay for it." Because he was damned well going to get some credit for this! He might not have thought of the fancy tent and the candles and the flowers and all this other frippery; but the basic idea was his!

"Stealing my ideas again were you?" Justin teased, his eyes dancing with mischief.

"Brat," Brian complained mildly; but he didn't deny it as he couldn't. He'd definitely taken a page out of the _Justin's Book of All Things Romantic_ when he came up with it.

"You so did," Justin laughed delightedly and then bounced over to him and threw himself into Brian's arms. "Well, I thank you. It's a very nice surprise."

"Just don't expect it to become a regular thing," Brian said, resting his brow against Justin's. "I think I'm already developing hives from all this romantic bullshit and we haven't even started eating yet."

"I promise not to hold this against you," Justin stated solemnly, his eyes sparkling with humor as he pressed a kiss to his jaw. "Nor will I expect anything as clichéd as hearts and flowers on a daily basis. I quite like it when you're all curmudgeonly and only begrudgingly acknowledge my existence in your life."

And if that wasn't a complete load of bullshit, he didn't know what was.

"Twat," Brian huffed, and then smiled softly as sparkling blue eyes met his. "I know that I'm usually not the romantic type; and usually I avoid this day like the plague. But, I just thought that after the last couple of weeks…well, I just wanted to do this for you."

"As I said, it's a nice surprise," Justin said, a soft smile on his face as he ran his hands though Brian's hair. "And as for all this ' _romantic bullshit_ ,' you've been doing a pretty damned good job of it lately."

"Yeah?" Brian asked, rolling his lips under as he shyly stared down into Justin's beaming face.

"Yup!" Justin said, popping the 'P' at the end; and then he smirked, his eyes dancing with mischief as he nipped Brian on the chin. "It seems that all my husband training classes have finally paid off!"

"Fuck off," Brian huffed, shoving a laughing Justin away from him. He walked away and went to stand over by the fireplace with a mock pout on his lips.

"Oh, now, don't be grumpy," Justin said, bouncing up to him and wrapping his arms around his neck.

Brian just kept his arms crossed over his chest, curious as to how his little twat was going to make it up to him this time. And he didn't have to wait long as Justin stood on his tiptoes and kissed him softly on the lips, whispering against them, _'thank you._ ' Brian tried to remain impervious, but his twat just kept peppering his face with butterfly kisses and whispering the words of gratitude over and over until Brian melted.

Wrapping his arms around Justin, he molded his body against his and crushed their lips together, moaning when Justin' mouth opened under his. Licking into his mouth, he cupped the back of Justin's head and deepened the kiss, tangling their tongues together. Justin moaned and arched against him, his hands diving into and curling around his hair as he drank Brian down as if he were a man dying of thirst.

Actually, it was much like when they'd reunited after the fiddler fiasco; and well, when he came home from New York as well. Kissing, fucking, making love to each other as if they'd thought they'd never get the opportunity again. As if they couldn't stand to be parted, to be separated by anything, even the very air between them.

Brian slid his hands down over Justin's back and cupped his ass, pulling him deeper into his body, grinding their cocks together. Justin moaned and tugged at his hair; he nipped at Brian's lips, then teased his tongue over them to soothe the sting. Brian hissed as Justin slid his lips down over his jaw and then licked along the length of it up to his ear, where he nibbled and licked as he slid his hands down Brian's back.

"Justin," Brian panted, groaning as the little twat slid his hands up under his shirt, tracing and teasing his abs, ribs and chest as he tried to tug it from his body. "As much as I'd love to continue this, we do have dinner waiting."

"It'll reheat," Justin said, completely unconcerned as he finally managed to pull Brian's shirt off; he dropped it onto the floor behind him as he licked a hot, wet stripe up Brian's chest to his nipples. "Knowing Em the way I do, he would have taken this into consideration and made sure that dinner wouldn't get ruined."

"Twat," Brian hissed, burying his hand into Justin's hair as he latched onto one nipple and teased it; he suckled it until it hardened to a peak before releasing it with a pop and moving on to lavish equal attention onto the other. "I went through all this trouble just to have you ignore it in favor of sex."

"I can't help it if your romantic streak gets me horny," Justin mumbled as he kissed his way up Brian's chest and latched into his neck, licking and biting and sucking until Brian finally said fuck it and gave into the inevitable.

"Everything gets you horny these days," Brian muttered, tugging at Justin's shirt, because if he wasn't going to beat him, might as well join him.

"Lucky for you," Justin chuckled, happily raising his arms to facilitate the removal of his shirt. He dropped his arms back down around Brian's neck and groaned as skin met skin, and slid together. "It could be so much worse for you; I could be one of those pregnant people that don't want to be touched."

"Have I ever thanked you for your raging libido?" Brian asked, walking Justin back to the pile of pillows and blankets in their tent, working on the buttons of his pants. "Because really, thank you for not turning me into a sex-starved mess like Ted."

"Anything for you, sweetums," Justin said, snickering when Brian pulled back and frowned at him. Using the distance to his advantage, Justin quickly unbuttoned and unzipped Brian's pants and slid a hand down them to wrap firmly around his dick.

" _Never_ say that again if you're expecting me to stay hard enough to fuck you," Brian stated, gasping as Justin's hand slid up his dick, his thumb teasing the head.

"Noted," Justin smirked, teasing his hand up and down the length before sliding down to cup and squeeze his balls. Fucking tease. "Not that you're having much of a problem at the moment.

"Dinner…" Brian said, pulling Justin's hand from his pants and attempting one last time to get their planned evening back on track. But his twat was having none of it.

"Later," Justin promised, sliding his hands back into Brian's pants and pushing them down his legs to pool at his feet. And then he quickly did the same with his, stepping out of them and kicking them to the side as he pressed full body against Brian.

"You're going to be the death of me," Brian murmured, capturing Justin's lips once more as he stepped out of his pants and tumbled them down onto the cushions. He slid between Justin's parted thighs and linked their hands together, pressing them into the pillow on either side of Justin's head as he ground their hips together.

"But what a way to go," Justin mumbled, wrapping his legs around Brian's waist and rocking up into Brain whimpering as their cocks dragged together; and then they were both lost as heat and desire took over.

Fuck it; if this is what Justin wanted for Valentine's Day, who was he to argue.


	48. February 15

**February 15**

Justin placed the phone into the crook of his shoulder and nodded as he grabbed the packages from the delivery boy. He handed several folded bills over to the boy; and then smiled and waved him off as he started to pull out some bills to make change. He mouthed a quick ' _thank you_ ' and waved as the smiling boy ran off to his car.

Watching to make sure the gate closed behind the delivery boy, Justin closed the door, unconsciously nodding once again at what the man on the other end of the phone was saying, and then walked towards the kitchen with his loot. Setting the packages on the counter, he began to pull out plates, cutlery and glasses, and set them on the table.

"No, that's fine Sydney," Justin said, when he could finally get a word in edgewise; he understood that the man was upset, but God could he go on. "I completely understand."

"I just feel so bad postponing it since it was only a week away," Sydney said, still fretting over the fact that he had to postpone Justin's show due to some emergency work that needed to be done at the gallery. But really, Justin was fine with it. "But if I don't get this taken care of immediately; it could potentially lead to other problems."

"Well, it's not like you could predict something like this," Justin soothed, pulling out several take-out containers, and setting them on the table, his mouth watering as the scent of garlic naan filled the air. "And better to take care of it before it could cause structural damage."

"I'm so glad that you're so understanding, Justin," Sydney sighed, the tension noticeably draining out of his voice. "The gentleman, and I use that word very loosely, that I was potentially lining up for the show after yours wasn't nearly so; I had to scrap that idea when he threw a fit knowing that I was more concerned with keeping your show than placating him."

"Who were trying to get in for next month?" Justin asked, smiling when Brian leaned into the door and motioned that he was going to go get changed. Justin nodded and stared at his filthy husband, wondering not for the first time just what he'd doing in the stables all this time. But then he shrugged and continued his conversation.

"Sam Auerbach," Sydney said, sounding not at all happy about it.

"Oh, _him_ ," Justin huffed disdainfully, not even bothering to hide his dislike for the man that had caused so many problems for the munchers. Not that he cared one way or the other about the drama that had occurred between Mel and Lindsay, but he did have serious issues when said drama spilled over onto Gus.

"Yes, him," Sydney laughed, knowing full well what Justin thought of the man.

The feud between Justin and Sam was well-known within art circles; and everyone knew better than to try booking them for the same show unless they wanted fireworks. Like that Los Angeles gallery that quickly learned he meant business when Justin pulled out of the show at the last minute. There were just some things he would not tolerate and being in the same room with sleazy Sam was one of them.

And fuck it; he was a well-respected artist and could pull the prima donna act if he so chose on the occasion; artists were known to be notoriously temperamental and it worked for him in that particular instance.

"Usually, I would chalk this up to one artist being jealous of another's success," Syndney continued once he'd stopped laughing. "But my gut tells me there is more to the story."

"Yeah, there is," Justin grumbled, grabbing some spoons out of the drawer and setting them into the trays of Chana Masala, Aloo Gobi, Rogan Josh, Chicken Biryani and basmati rice. "But it's old family business, and best left in the past."

"Oh, that," Sydney said flatly, obviously recalling the Sam/Lindsay incident without Justin having to say a word.

"Yeah, that," Justin said, pursing his lips as Brian walked in; and then he quickly changed the subject, as he didn't need Brian getting all grumpy due to muncher drama. "So, when were you thinking of moving the show to?"

"I was thinking March 14?" Sydney offered; Brian's head popped up and he frowned. "We'd do the invitation-only opening Friday evening with cocktails and hors 'd oeuvres; and then open to the public on Saturday to run through...possibly March 20? That will give me the five weeks that I originally wanted, but will give me a few days of transition for the next show on the March 25."

"Sure," Justin nodded, waving Brian off, and mouthing _'later_ ' as he grabbed a beer for Brian and a bottle of water for him out of the refrigerator. "Shall I come in and we can go over the details some time next week?"

"How about we meet at Eleven Contemporary Kitchen in the strip?" Sydney hedged, sounding oddly nervous; Justin cocked his head at his tone, but then shrugged it off and chalked it up to him dealing with the mess at the gallery. "That way we could avoid all of the…you know, stuff going on here. Is there a particular day that would be best for you?"

Justin paused as he pulled out his phone and quickly typed in his code; he studied his schedule. "Any day but Tuesday works for me; I have hospital tour and a doctor's appointment that day."

"Great," Sydney said, and just could hear the faint rustle of papers in the background. "I'll make a reservation and then get back to you."

"Sounds good," Justin said, walking over to the table and sitting down. "Was there anything else that you needed?"

"No, I'll call back with the time and day for our meeting no later than Monday." Sydney said, bringing a close to their conversation.

"Thanks, Sydney," Justin said, spooning food out onto his plate and then cocked his head as he studied; a move that had Brian freezing and watching him warily. Honestly, he acted as if eating with him was a new form of torture. "And sorry to hear about the gallery and that it made such a mess of everything."

"I'm not," Sydney laughed again. "Honestly, the only reason I invited that ass back to the gallery was because some of my patrons were asking for another show. I couldn't care less if he never showed his face in here in the gallery, or even Pittsburgh in general, again. Talk to you soon, have a good evening and say hi to Brian for me."

"Bye Sydney," Justin said, still laughing as he hung up the phone, and then addressed Brian. "Sydney says hi."

Justin stood and walked over to the refrigerator, quickly riffling through it until he found the container that he wanted and then walked back over and sat down. Brian watched him with a bit of trepidation, but didn't comment on the plastic container in his hand. That was a first.

"What was that about?" Brian asked, loading his plate Aloo Gobi, focusing more on the cauliflower than the potatoes, the Chana Masala, a small portion of the Rogan Josh and then finished with a small helping of basmati rice. Unlike Justin, who happily piled the food on.

"Sydney needs to postpone the show due to some pipe issues," Justin said, adding a bit more of the Biryani, since that was what he'd been craving all afternoon.

"Pipe issues?" Brian asked,an odd not in his voice as he tore a small portion of naan off and dipping it into the Rogan Josh on his plate.

"That's what he said," Justin shrugged, humming with pleasure as he took bite of his Biryani. "Something about needing to close the gallery due to a problem with the pipes. To be honest, I didn't really pay all that much attention as he just kept babbling on and on."

"Hmmmm…" Brian hummed absently, his brow furrowed, a pensive frown on his face; something that was happening more and more often lately. And it was really starting to worry Justin.

"So, he asked if he could postpone it until March 15," Justin finished, carefully watching for his husband's reaction. "We're going to go over the details this week." But Brian just nodded absently; Justin huffed in exasperation. He'd find out what was going on eventually. Clearing his throat, Justin nodded to the food. "I hope you don't mind; I just didn't feel like cooking and I had a craving for it."

"Like I care," Brian smirked and his eyes flashed with mischief as he tucked his tongue in his cheek. "You know I'm easy, Sunshine."

"Yeah, right," Justin snorted, taking another bite of his food and humming. It _was_ good, but he was right when he thought that it really needed something earlier. "The only thing easy about you is…well, that should be obvious."

"Twat." Brian said without heat, rolling his eyes when Justin just grinned unrepentantly.

"Your twat," Justin snickered and then picked up the container he'd taken out of the refrigerator. He slowly peeled the plastic wrap from the top and then dumped a healthy dollop of the contents onto the corner of his plate.

"What are you doing?" Brian asked, watching Justin with that same wary look he'd gotten earlier. Justin just rolled his eyes and started mixing the dollop into his food.

"Eating?" Justin stated slowly, looking at Brian as if he'd grown another head. What the fuck did it look like he was doing? Seriously, he'd no idea that Brian was this squeamish when it came to food.

"You are **NOT** feeding that shit to my child Sunshine!" Brian huffed, wrinkling his nose at Justin's latest culinary creation.

"And why not?" Justin demanded, purposely adding more just to watch Brian cringe. "If Sunbeam wants Chicken Biryani and butterscotch pudding for dinner; Sunbeam will damn well get…"

"Justin," Brian whined - yes, he actually whined - his face pained as he watched Justin take a big bit of his food; and then he turned a bit green as Justin hummed with happiness. that combination really did work as well as he thought it would.

"I will be eating this with or without your approval, even if I have to go to my studio to do so" Justin stubbornly stated, wrapping his arm around his plate as if to protect it; he wouldn't put it past Brian to try and take it from him and dump it. "And if I have to hide myself away to do so, you won't like me."

"Fine," Brian sighed, keeping his eyes firmly fixated on his own plate. "Just don't come bitching to me if you end up with heartburn, as I will feel absolutely no sympathy for your predicament."

"Please," Justin snorted, happily going back to his dinner. "You, as well as I, know that I have a cast iron stomach. The likelihood of that happening is slim."

"That's what you said about the chili cook off as well, and what happened?" Brian groused, stabbing a piece of lamb with his fork and then pointing at Justin with it.

"It was the five-alarm chili," Justin shrugged, completely unconcerned with Brian's dire predictions. He'd think he knew his stomach better than Brian, thank you very much. "Anyone would have had trouble after eating that; but damn it was _so_ worth it. And if I do end up with heartburn now, it will _still_ be worth it."

"Whatever," Brian said, making Justin grin as _that_ was a sure sign that he'd won the discussion. Brian only used that when he couldn't think of anything better to say.

Justin hummed to himself, content as he continued to eat his dinner; but it was a short-lived thing as he knew that he needed to tell Brian what he'd discovered, or really, what he'd remembered the other day. He had considered not mentioning it, knowing that Brian would likely flip out and go all caveman on him; but then he realized, if the roles were reversed, he'd want to know if it had happened to Brian.

Chewing on his bottom lip, he toyed with his food as he tried to figure out the best way to bring the subject up. There really wasn't an easy or soft way to say it; but, on the other hand, he didn't want to bring on a heart attack by blurting it out either. Taking a deep breath, Justin looked up from his plate and startled to find Brian watching him with a pensive frown; almost as if he already knew something was up.

"Just spit it out already, Sunshine," Brian sighed, setting his fork down.

"Something happened the other day," Justin began, and then trailed off as he shook his head in frustration. "No…well, it didn't really happen then; more like I remembered something while I was at the store the other day."

Justin quickly filled his husband in on the odd incident; one he couldn't even remember when it happened, but it had to have been a good two to three weeks before. Brian listened, a grim moue on his face as his expression grew darker and darker, making Justin shift in his seat uneasily. He knew that Brian wasn't mad at _him_ , and that he was really mad at the situation, but Justin hated when he got this way.

When Justin finished, Brian exhaled explosively, his eyes trained onto some far off thing that only he could see, his lips rolled under as he thought things through. Justin stirred his food around; he was no longer hungry, but took a bite anyways as he knew he needed to eat for Sunbeam's sake.

"I've been thinking," Brian began and then trailed off as he stared at Justin, uncertain how to put whatever was on his mind into words. Sucking on his bottom lip, he stared for a few moments longer and then sighed and began again. "Since the loft was broken into, I have been considering upping the security…"

"No," Justin said automatically, already knowing where this was headed.

"Justin," Brian sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Just, please; listen for a moment. I've been considering upping the security for a while now; both here and at the loft. I think we should definitely make sure we update to the best they have available and that we should even look at getting security personal to…"

"No," Justin said again; mentally cursing the asshole responsible for this because he'd known, he'd just _known_ that Brian was going to go here. "I don't want a bodyguard, Brian."

"Justin." Brian stated a bit more firmly, an implacable expression in his face.

"No," Justin spat, feeling his anxiety ratcheting up at the mere idea of this bodyguard following him around and always watching him. "I hate the idea of someone always there, looking over my shoulder, watching everything I do! I hate the idea that some…goon is going to be there shadowing me and watching eery moment of every day; that they are going to be right there, breathing down my neck.

"Justin," Brian sighed rubbing a hand over his face.

"And I hate the idea that I can't go _anywhere_ without them there," Justin continued, not even listening to his husband anymore. He just wanted to live his fucking life the way he wanted, was there anything wrong with that? "And telling me what I can or cannot do. That I can't even go to the fucking store without…"

"You already do!" Brian yelled, slamming his fist down on the table, his words stunning Justin into silence. They stared at each other for a long moment; Brian panting and his eyes wild as the met Justin's, which were wide with surprise. Brian sighed heavily as he slumped back into his chair, and said in a softer, but weary tone. "You already do, Sunshine; which is precisely the problem!"

"What?" Justin choked out, not getting where Brian was going with this; ad he already hired someone without even saying anything to him?

"What the fuck do you think the stalker is doing, Justin?" Brian asked, his eyes filled with a mixture of frustration, anger, fear and concern. "He isn't sitting in his house, watching you from afar; _not anymore_. He's fucking shadowing you, following you, breathing down your neck, looking for the next opportunity to interact with you. He's not sitting at home pasting your photos in a scrapbook. Or well, he's not just doing that any longer. You just said it yourself! He was there, at the store, close enough to grab you so you wouldn't fall."

Justin studied his hands; he hadn't thought of it like that. Or maybe he had and that was why he was protesting so vehemently to the bodyguard; he already felt watched and... _hunted;_ and he didn't really want another person there, watching his every move.

"Could it be a coincidence?" Brian asked, and then shrugged. "Maybe. Do you _really_ want to take that chance?"

Justin chewed on his bottom lip, his eyes misting as he shook his head no.

"I get that you hate the idea of someone dogging your every move," Brian said, leaning forward to slide a finger under his chin, tipping it up so that their eyes met. "And I'm not asking that of you. When you're at home, so long as the gates are closed and security patrols the area, it's not needed. Or if we're together or with friends or family, again, it likely won't be needed. I'm just asking that, if you are going out alone somewhere, that you have someone there to watch your back. Is that too much to ask?"

Justin averted his gaze and thought about it; he still didn't like the idea, but he really couldn't find fault with what Brian was asking. He did have one condition though.

"Only if you do the same," Justin said, a steely look on his face, shaking his head when Brian went to protest. "No; you want me to do this? You do it too. You think I don't worry about you? That I don't sit at home on pins and needles until you get home every night, wondering if something is going to happen?" Justin's voice cracked, and a tear slid down his cheek as he stared Brian in the face. "He is after you too. And, in fact, he is even more violently fixated on you. If you expect me to do this, Brian; then I expect – _no_ – I demand that you do the same. Because if anything were to happen to you…"

Justin took a shuddery breath, because he didn't even want to think of what life would be like with out Brian in it. Brian made a choked sound in the back of his throat and shot out of his chair; he yanked Justin into his arms and pulled him into his body. Justin sighed shakily, tears still on his face as he buried his face into the crook of Brian's neck, and clung to his husband as if he were the only real thing in the world.

"Okay, Sunshine," Brian kissed his temple, his own breath shallow and his voice rough with suppressed emotion. Stroking Justin's back, he buried his face into Justin's hair and whispered. "I promise."


	49. February 16

**February 16**

Carl smirked as Brian shook his head and scanned his living room with a look of utter bewilderment on his face. It was rare to see the typically unruffled man so discombobulated, but as car after car of people had arrived at his house that morning, he'd grown more and more aggravated, much to the amusement of his equally delighted husband. And looking around at all the people sitting or standing in small clusters, he couldn't blame Brian for feeling agitated and out of his comfort zone.

The funny thing was, they hadn't even planned the mass exodus to Britin this morning; they'd all come on their own for various reasons. Ted and Blake had come over because they were sick of staying home. Em and Drew came over because Em wanted to talk to Justin about some idea he had for the baby shower. Jen and Tucker swung by because she was showing a house in the area later that afternoon.

He had no idea why Lindsay and Mel were there, but based on Lindsay's pout and Mel's exasperated expression, and the way Justin was pointedly ignoring both, he was sure it revolved around more unwanted advice. But at least the kids were there and having a ball bouncing from one group to another. Molly had come over with the purpose of nagging her brother into talking to her art group about Rage.

Daphne and her husband Liam showed up after that, their two-year-old son Kian in tow, to announce that she'd just found out that she was two months pregnant. At which point Brian turned white, walked over to the bar, poured himself a stiff one and slammed it down, muttering something about not being ready to _'deal with the hormonal twins from hell.'_ Liam shot him a commiserating glance and quickly followed suit.

And for Deb and him; well he was merely here to make sure did as she said she would. After her confrontation with Justin, Deb came home, confused and hurt by the boys reactions. And when he finally pulled the full story from her, he'd sighed and told her the truth – he didn't blame Justin one bit for saying the things he'd said.

Frankly, it had been a blow up that had been a long time coming; Justin wasn't known for holding his tongue on a perceived wrong. That he had done so for as long as he had was only due to his deference for Brian's feelings in the matter. But Carl had seen the storm brewing in his eyes every time Deb carelessly made a crack about Brian's former tricking or his unreliability or how she'd known he was trouble from the beginning. And saw how hard Justin had to bite his tongue on his thought on it.

It was bound to happen; and really, she needed to be told; because what Michael was doing wasn't right. Not only was he causing an undue amount of stress for Justin, it was creating friction within his own marriage as Ben was once again faced with Michael's unhealthy fixation on Brian. Even now, he'd been telling himself, and anyone that would listen, that Brian would ' _soon get over it and come back to him_ ' and that Justin was just being a drama queen.

Carl didn't know when exactly it had been that Michael had lost touch with reality, but he didn't see Brian forgiving him anytime soon.

But after a long discussion, Deb finally came around, especially once Emmett, in an unholy tizzy at her behavior, showed her the video of the confrontation between Justin and Michael. Deeply ashamed at the things she'd said, she called Michael and told him she was no longer putting up with his lies and half-truths and if he even thought of using her house as hiding place again, she'd kick his ass from here to Timbuktu.

And that was why they were here; she'd felt the need to apologize and try to smooth the waters between herself and the boys. But the boys were feeling, rightfully, hesitant given their history with Deb, and had been giving her wide berth all day; but hopefully this would be a step in the right direction.

"How the fuck did this happen?" Brian asked out of the blue, still looking around the room with an exasperated glare; especially when Justin just smirked and waved. Carl chuckled when Brian huffed and cast a disgruntled look his way. "I had a very quiet Sunday planned. Where the fuck did all these people come from?"

"One word," Emmett said, holding one finger up and then pointing it in Justin's direction. "Baby. Although, now that we are all here, make that two babies. I'm not sure who is the bigger draw at this point – Luc or Justin."

"I think Luc is just edging Justin out this time," Carl smirked, his hands in his pockets as he watched the chaos around him. "But just barely; and only because it's his first adventure into the outside world."

"Well, second," Ted said, shrugging when they all looked at him. "His first foray into the outside world was much less pleasant. It was to the doctor for his first check up. But technically, that was his first time out of the house."

"Yes, but it's still his first _social_ visit," Emmett clarified, leaning against the wet bar as Brian continued to scowl at the unending upheaval of his day; that is until Jenny bounced up all smiles and worked her charm on him. He never could resist the Princess.

"Point," Ted nodded, sitting down heavily on a bar stool. "And am I glad for it. Frankly, we didn't think the staying at home with no help thing through very well."

"I tried to warn you," Brian smirked, his arms crossed over his chest. "But you both kept insisting that you wanted to do it by yourselves."

"And since when did you become an expert?" Emmett snorted, taking another sip of his drink. "I know that you have Gus, but Mel and Linds…oh."

Emmett paused, his mouth rounding as comprehension dawned; because, while Brian didn't have firsthand experience with dealing with a newborn baby on a daily basis, he did have a front row seat for the mess that became the girls relationship in the wake of Gus' birth.

"Yup, that right there," Brian nodded, sending an unreadable look the girls way, and sighing wearily when it looked like they were fighting yet again. Carl honestly didn't understand how they stayed together with all that strife. "Lindsay was convinced they could do it all on their own and look what happened."

"The massive shit bomb known as Maryanne," Ted nodded knowingly; and he should know, as when it all imploded, he to Mel, what Brian had been to Lindsay. "Not that I'd ever do that to Blake."

"And I didn't think you would," Brian huffed, casting a look Ted's way. "But that whole fucking mess definitely taught me that no matter how prepared you are, and no matter how ready you _think_ you are, you really aren't. And there is nothing wrong with asking for help. God knows I will be more than happy to have Grandmoms Jen and Deb, Grandpa Carl and Aunties Molly and Daphne here to help out when they can."

"What about Grandpa Tucker?" Emmett teased, snickering when Brian winced.

"Oh God," Brian said, casting a look over at Justin, who was sitting on a chair, holding and cooing at Luc. "Don't let Justin hear you say that. While he may have made his peace with Tucker, he still cringes at the thought that his step-daddy is not that much older than he is. He might just have an aneurysm if you say that to him."

"That boy really needs to get over it already," Emmett said, casting an exasperated look over at Justin. "Tucker makes Jen incandescently happy; that's all that should matter."

"He knows that," Brian said quietly, a small content smile on his face as he watched his husband feed Luc. Likely imagining their own child in Justin's arms. "But tell me truthfully, if it was your mother who showed up with a man only five to ten years older than you, and introduced him as your new daddy; would you be so open-minded?"

"First of all, honey," Emmett snorted, a hint of derision in his voice; the same tone he got whenever ' _the woman who bore him_ ', his words, came up in a conversation. "My mother is a dried-up, sexless, shrew of a woman who wouldn't know what to do with a fine man like Tucker. She'd be too busy praying to her God for his everlasting salvation to know how to satisfy him. But I do concede your point."

Brian snorted, and toasted Emmett with his glass as they shared a knowing look. Carl watched the exchange and couldn't help wondering when they'd gotten to the point in their friendship that they could do that; exchange a look and know what the other is thinking. It wasn't they weren't good friends in the past, but he'd never seen them connect like Brian and Michael did; or even the way Brian and Ted did. But lately it seemed as if Emmett had stepped up to the plate and crossed some invisible barrier in Kinneyland.

"So," Brian drawled, his eyes still trained on Emmett. "Does anyone want to address the white elephant in the room, or will it be up to me to ask where Mikey and the Good Professor is?"

Emmett scowled and knocked back his drink in an attempt to remain silent; Brian just continued to stare at him with his infamous tongue in cheek smirk. They seemed to hold a silent argument for a couple of minutes before Emmett finally huffed and caved.

"Let's just say he was advised to stay away, and leave it at that, sweetie." Emmett said, looking like butter wouldn't melt in his mouth.

"Right," Brian said, arching a brow, a look of utter disbelief on his face; Emmett squirmed. "Do I want to know what he said to warrant the beat down?"

Carl's eyebrows shot up at that comment, having been completely taken by surprise at this new information. He'd seen Michael's injuries; and more, he'd had to listen to him whine about them for several hours as he tried to gain sympathy from his mother. But, Michael had been oddly reticent on telling Deb who had done it to him and why it happened; he'd just said over and over that it had all been a misunderstanding and told her to let it go. Carl hadn't been aware that the beat down had been handed down by Emmett. But now that he thought about it, it made a whole lot of sense.

"No, you don't," Emmett said, a hard glint in his eyes. "Suffice to say, he got what he deserved. Although, I am only responsible for the black eye; the bruise on his chin and the scrape on his cheek happened as he hit the concrete. As for the rest of his injuries, I have no idea where they came from. But, you know as well as I do that everyone on the Avenue loves Justin and thinks of him as their Prince. So, it could have been any number of people who witnessed or heard what Michael did that day."

"He isn't their…" Brian hissed like a scalded cat, scowling at Emmett as if he'd said that Justin was going to compete in the King of Babylon again; and yes, he'd heard that entertaining story from the gossip queen himself.

"Yes, yes, I know," Emmett rolled his eyes and waved him off. "He's _your_ Prince. Jesus. I don't remember you being this possessive when you first started dating."

"I do," Ted said, smirking when Brian turned his scowl onto him. "I distinctly remember that within the first few weeks of Justin starting to hang out with us; one night, you were hanging all over him and kissed him on the jaw. And caveman over here came up to you, threw your arms off of him and dragged Justin over to him and wrapped him in his arms in very definite ' _hands off; mine'_ manner."

"That's right!" Emmett chortled, clapping his hands with glee, and blatantly ignoring Brian's death glare as he turned to Ted. "I had forgotten about that."

"It wasn't that bad," Brian grumbled, his cheeks red as he looked away.

"Yes it was, sweetie," Emmett disagreed, his lips stretching into a shit-eating grin as he patted Brian on the shoulder. "But that's okay; you let us know right up front that your little blond was different and off limits; even if you wouldn't admit it to yourself at the time. So, good for you, sweetie."

"You guys are just _so_ hilarious," Brian drawled sarcastically, obviously trying to get them away from a touchy subject; and then he paused and pulled his cell phone out his pocket, frowning as he read the display "Excuse me, I need to take this."

Carl watched as Brian answered it and walked to a quiet corner of the room; he only listened with half an ear as the boys began to reminisce about the _Great Brian and Justin Show_ , more concerned with Brian's reaction than what they were saying. Brian's face grew darker and darker, his voice taking on a harsh note as he talked and Carl sighed, having a bad feeling he knew exactly what the call was about. Despite being retired, he still heard things on the street; and if the rumors proved right, this would not end well.

Making his excuses to the boys, Carl slowly walked over to Brian and silently joined him, careful to stay out of earshot; Brian looked up as he approached, his face unreadable as he continued to talk to the person in a soft, but firm tone. Carl watched and waited as Brian talked for a few more minutes, knowing he'd likely need to defuse the situation if it was indeed related to the gallery. Brian exhaled explosively and hung up, his face a blank mask as he stared at Carl; but his eyes…his eyes gave everything away as they were filled with a helpless rage and terror.

Taking a deep breath, Carl slowly walked up and then just stood there waiting for the Kinney wrath to fall down on him.

"You knew about this," Brian said in a remarkably calm tone; but Carl had gotten to know this boy well, and could tell he was just barely holding it together.

"I heard that there was a break in at the gallery and that some of Justin's work was destroyed, but didn't know for sure," Carl said, trying to stick to the bare facts, rather than what he speculated to be true. "I also know that Tak said that he needed to talk to you about the case when I saw him yesterday; but outside of that, everything else was rumor or speculation."

Brian scoffed and looked away; and again, Carl couldn't blame him for being upset and drawing the conclusions that he'd had, as Carl had done the same.

"They defaced the painting of me, Carl," Brian said, his hands trembling; but whether it was due to fear or rage, he couldn't tell. "This asshole wrote the words _'Die Whore'_ on it. That doesn't sound like a coincidence or rumor to me given that all of the art of me, as well as the painting and any sketches that were of me and Justin were destroyed in the loft."

"But without physical evidence linking them," Carl said, feeling a bit helpless with the rhetoric he was spouting; even if he was retired, he couldn't turn of the cop inside of him. "They can't rule out the possibility that it's a different vandal."

"But you don't believe that," Brian said, looking back at him, his lips compressed into a thin white line, obviously needing the acknowledgement.

"Everything in my gut says they're related," Carl said, verbally confirming what the both of them knew to be true no matter what line had been handed to him.

"Fuck," Brian spat, his eyes trained on a laughing Justin, who was now chatting to an excitable Jenny as she pressed her hands against his stomach. "Just what we fucking need. I just got Justin to calm down a bit and to agree to let me handle this; and now, he's going to be on the fucking warpath if he hears this. Although, there is no way in hell _I'm_ going to tell him about it if I can help it."

Carl rolled his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. He had been afraid of this very reaction when Tak told him that he just felt that the two incidents were connected. Brian was a notorious control freak, and there was no one else in this world, outside of Gus and Jenny, that he loved more than Justin. That he would move Heaven and Earth to keep the man safe was an understatement.

"Brian," Carl said, pausing to gain his attention; Brian looked over, his eyes wild with fear. "I'll warn you again, though I doubt you'll listen; but keeping Justin in the dark is going to backfire on you."

"Then tell me what am I supposed to do, Carl?" Brian hissed, running a hand through his hair. "I'm between a rock and a hard place. You saw what happened when Justin found out about the stalker targeting me at the loft. He had a fucking anxiety attack so bad that he ended up staying overnight in the hospital, with the doctors warning him that he needed to reduce his stress or there could be complication for both him and Sunbeam. I can't take the chance of a repeat."

"I know, son," Carl said, resting his hand on Brian's shoulder and squeezing. "But think about telling him something; because if you keep this from him, and he finds out from another source like he did with Michael, it could end just as badly for you. And you know that."

"Fuck," Brian cursed again, ignoring the looks Ted and Emmett were sending his way; he dropped his head into his hands. "I don't know what to do."

"You just take care of you and our Sunshine and Sunbeam;" Carl said, squeezing his shoulder once more as he walked off to have a chat with the other two boys about moving certain measures forward. Nothing was going to hurt those boys if he had any say in it. "Let me and the others handle the rest."


	50. February 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, yesterday I tried to post, but for some reason my net was down. Tried everything on my side to get it up and working, but nothing. I waited until about 3 a.m. last night to see if it would come back up and when it was still down, I went to bed. Thankfully, it seems to be functioning again. So, you get two updates today and sorry you didn't get one yesterday.

**February 17**

Something wasn't adding up.

Justin lay on the chaise in front of the fire and watched the flames dance in the hearth, his mind mulling over the last few weeks. So much had happened, and so fast, that he'd yet to have a chance to process it all; and now that he'd had a slow moment to think things through, he started noticing things he hadn't before.

Or well, it wasn't that he hadn't noticed them, but more that he hadn't really had the opportunity to put the pieces together to get a clearer picture of what had been happening with this whole stalker business. Justin shuddered and rubbed a hand over his stomach, cupping it protectively as he thought back to his last visit to the grocery store and what it had revealed.

He couldn't help wondering how many like events had occurred over the years; ones that he'd ignored or chalked up to some asshole trying to get fresh with him. After all, everyone knew that until five years ago, he and Brian had maintained an open relationship. He, himself, had insisted on it while he lived in New York and made a name for himself. And there were assholes everywhere that thought they could manhandle him because they thought him to be nothing more than a clueless twink with a great ass.

They'd learned differently very quickly.

How many times had he done that in a day though? Touched someone or bumped into them, smiled at them or exchanged a pleasantry or two, without even thinking about it? How many times had he shrugged off an odd interaction as just something to be expected as regular city life and called it local color, never thinking of it again; because who wasn't unique or unusual in some way in New York or down on Liberty Avenue?

And as each, and every, one of those odd moments came flooding back; it forced him to examine them for signs, for hints or clues that the interaction wasn't nearly as innocuous as he once thought.

Sighing, he wearily rubbed his hand over his face; there were far too many of them for his comfort and it left him feeling uneasy in his own skin.

It didn't help that he also knew that Brian wasn't telling him everything; that his husband had been holding information back from him ever since the loft break in. Oh, he knew it seemed like he had been in a catatonic state at the time; but in reality, he'd seen and heard far more than either Brian or Carl were giving him credit for; you'd think they would have learned by now not to take everything at face value with him.

Justin was giving them the benefit of the doubt, however; and chalking up their failure to the fact that they were just as shell-shocked by the destruction of loft as he. It was annoying though. He didn't _need_ to be protected from _this_ ; in fact, the lack of information could very well be more detrimental than the stress of knowing it.

He loved his husband, but sometimes Brian still saw the naïve seventeen-year-old twink that needed protecting, rather than the thirty-year-old former New Yorker that had seen and done far too much in his short life. And don't get him wrong; he loved Brian's protective streak and his need to make everything safe for him and Sunbeam. But sometimes… sometimes he just wanted to smack him over the head and tell him to stop being a stubborn ass.

God how he _hated_ being coddled.

To make matters worse, he was pretty sure something was going on with his show now. He had felt that there was something more than the pipes were wrong when Sidney called the other day. He didn't catch on to it at first, but within the first couple of minutes of Sydney's explanation, Justin knew something was off. It wasn't so much what he had said, but more what he hadn't. Sydney, once you knew him, was very chatty. He could talk your ear off about everything and nothing at the same time.

So, when he called the other night, and only stayed on the phone for about fifteen minutes; it was like waving a red flag in front of a bull. Added to it, was the way he'd carefully picked and chose his words; as if he were reading from a script. Justin hadn't said anything that night as all he had were his suspicions, and he'd wanted to give the man the benefit of the doubt as he could have just been distracted by the current crisis, but he still knew something was up. And he'd been proven right to be concerned.

As, the next day, when everyone had descended on their house for the various reasons, Brian had gotten that call. Justin had no idea who had been on the other end of the line, but he _had_ seen Brian's reaction to it despite his obvious attempt at hiding himself in a quiet, dark corner of the room. Even more interesting had been Carl's reaction as soon as the phone went off; the way he'd watched Brian's reactions was very telling, and Justin suspected that it was a call that Carl had been expecting.

And really, he didn't know who they thought they were fooling in the end, having that mini-conference right there in the damned room, each looking as sober as judges, but it certainly wasn't him. Maybe they'd thought Justin had been too distracted by Luc and their other guests, but they'd certainly forgot one thing. Justin had always been tuned into Brian no matter where he was in a room; and he always had been from the very first night that the two of them had met.

Justin knew Brian better than anyone else; and he could always tell when something was wrong, even if his husband's face was completely devoid of emotion. There was just this shift, or ripple, in the air and Justin _knew_ within seconds all was not right with the man he loved. Did they really think that they'd fool him?

But the real kicker came when he'd read the news this morning.

Brian had kept him successfully distracted all day yesterday; first, with a nice and slow morning fuck that kept in bed until nearly eleven. And then, all of their friends and family were there for an impromptu family lunch, which went on through dinner for a few of them. And _then_ , Brian had decided that he'd wanted a movie night and they'd spent the rest of that night curled up on the couch together, eating popcorn and watching movies.

So, he hadn't had the chance to read the paper; or really, read through the news on his tablet, yesterday. But, it was bound to happen eventually, and he couldn't quite believe that they'd both thought they could keep the news of the break-in from reaching him. Inevitably, it was going to slip; and slip it did. This morning, he had been going through the articles from his news monitoring service, set to catch any mention of his name; it was something that his agent had recommended so that he would never be blindsided by an article.

And lo and behold, in the newest batch, there was an article on a break-in at Bloom Gallery. The news on the break-in was sketchy at best, with a vague mention of a piece of artwork that had been damaged the night before Sydney called him. The only reason his name had been mentioned at all was due to the announcement that his show would be postponed because of the break-in and subsequent investigation.

He had to admit, he was pretty ticked off that Sydney had lied to him the other night; his gut told him that the piece damaged was one of his. Why else would Sydney, Brian and Carl have been acting the way they have been for the past two days? He'd been _this_ close to storming the gallery and Kinnetik and demanding answers today. But once he cooled down, he realized that Sydney's hands, at the very least, had likely been tied. He'd likely been told to keep certain details under wraps until the police were done their investigation and the detective had the chance to contact him and Brian.

So, He was willing to let that part drop for now.

His husband on the other hand; he was not so happy with him. While he completely understood why Brian would want to keep this close to his chest; after all, he did remember how terrified Brian had been when he'd gotten to the hospital and learned of his condition, it was still infuriating. He didn't blame Brian for erring on the side of caution; but it was beyond frustrating to be treated like he were a fragile little faggot that couldn't cope.

The only reason he'd gotten so upset the other day was he'd been having a pretty shitty day to start with; on top that, he'd not been able to get much sleep due to the break in, plus he hadn't eaten since the day before _and_ he was still enraged that his painting and artwork had been destroyed. Michael coming in and laying the rest of that shit on him had just been the final nail in the coffin. He'd already been anxious since finding the loft destroyed; it wasn't going take much to topple him over the edge into a full blown panic attack.

And it hadn't; and he'd ended up in the fucking hospital, and now they were driving him crazy by handling him with kid gloves. That Brian was pulling this overprotective bullshit again grated; and he wasn't quite sure how he wanted to deal with it. Did he confront his husband when he got home? Or did he hold off in the hope that Brian would eventually come clean?

Sighing, Justin closed his eyes and scrubbed a hand over his face before dropping it onto his bare stomach once again. He still didn't have any answers; and until he had all the pieces of the puzzle, he didn't think he would find one any time soon.

"Not that I'm complaining with the very nude welcome home," an appreciative voice rumbled and startled Justin out of his thoughts. His eyes flew open and landed on an amused Brian staring down at his body with obvious interest. Shit; he hadn't even heard the door open. "But do I want to know why you're laying in the middle of the living room without a stitch on?"

Justin bit his tongue against the rude comment he wanted to make and simply stared at his husband for a moment, noting the dark circles under his eyes. Deep lines were etched into his face, evidence of his fatigue and stress level, and in that moment Justin deflated; he didn't have the heart to rake his husband over the coals for his continued over-protectiveness and his need to control the situation.

Heaving an internal sigh, Justin decided to let it go for now and see how the events played out over the next few days. But, if Brian hadn't come clean by the end of the week, his ass was so getting reamed; and not in the fun, life-affirming way.

"I'm hot." Justin complained; which had been the absolute truth. For some reason, he'd been having fucking hot flashes all day and he'd finally gotten tired of it and decided to say fuck clothing for the time being.

"Well, yes," Brian drawled, licking his lips as he set aside his coat and suit jacket and slowly walked over to where Justin was laying on the chaise. "I'd definitely agree with that assessment; but it still doesn't tell me why you're naked as the day you were born."

"Not that kind of hot," Justin rolled his eyes, but he also couldn't help the pleased smile that spread over his lips as Brian began unbuttoning his shirt. His cock twitched with interest as Brian dropped to his knees at the end of the chaise; especially when he began dropping small kisses along the insides of Justin's thighs.

"Although the compliment is greatly appreciated at the moment. I mean, temperature wise, I'm hot. I've been having hot flashes all day and I got sick of putting on layers, only to yank them off twenty, thirty minutes later. So, finally, I decided to build up a fire and lay naked in front of it. It's working so far."

"You aren't getting sick, are you?" Brian looked up, a concerned frown on his face.

"No," Justin reassured, nearly melting when Brian continued his ministrations. He gasped as Brian slid up the chaise between his legs and continued to pepper kisses over his stomach and chest. "Liz said that this could happen from time to time the further I got into the pregnancy; which is why she suggested dressing in layers. It's just been one of those days."

"Well, then," Brian leered, sliding his shirt from his body and then quickly undoing his pants and sliding them off before crawling back between Justin's legs. "How about I join you; I wouldn't want to pass up such a fortuitous happenstance."

Justin groaned, and his back arched, as Brian licked a strip up his cock, and then completely lost all conscious thought as his husband's mouth engulfed him. Fuck talking right now; that could definitely wait until later.

Much later.


	51. February 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You might need to suspend belief just a little with this one.

**February 18**

Brian walked down the hospital hall, his arm firmly wrapped around Justin's shoulders in an effort to ground himself. God, he hated hospitals. He had ever since Justin's bashing and he'd spent every night standing outside Justin's room watching him fight his demons in his sleep. The only blessing was that this hospital wasn't the one that Justin had spent all those weeks in recovery. He didn't think he could step foot in it if had been.

Pressing his lips to Justin's temple, he slid his arm down to his waist and wrapped his hand around it, resting it protectively on his belly. Justin looked up with a smile, but continued walking towards the waiting room where they were supposed to meet their guide for the hospital tour that Justin insisted on doing.

Personally, Brian didn't think the really needed it; how hard could it be? You showed up, waited hours while your spouse threatened you with every form of bodily injury that their creative minds could concoct, (which was not-so-surprisingly plentiful for someone as creative as Justin). And then you spent the rest of the time in pain as your partner squeezed the life out of whatever body part they could latch onto until the baby was born. He didn't really see the need for a tour.

But Justin started prattling on and on about preregistering and being comfortable in his environment during such a stressful time and knowing where to go when the time came, and Brian had finally agreed if only to shut him up. And, if it made things that much easier for Justin on the day of the delivery, then Brian was happy to spare a few hours to go on this stupid tour.

"Brian, Justin," a voice called from behind them; Brian halted and turned around to find Justin's OB, Liz Jackson, walking toward them with a small frown. Brian stiffened, hoping that everything was okay; he really didn't need anymore bad news at this point in the game. "I'm so glad to see you; I was wondering if after the tour, you had some time to come by my office so that we could talk."

"Is there something wrong?" Justin asked, his brow furrowing as he studied his OB's harassed expression.

"Not wrong per se," Liz hedged, smoothing her hair back from her face. "But I do need to discuss something of utmost delicacy and I really don't want to have that conversation in the halls where anyone could hear."

Justin and Brian exchanged worried looks.

"Sure," Justin said slowly, a small frown on his face; he arched a brow in Brian's direction. "I know that I don't have anything planned after this; what about you? Do you need to get back to the office?"

Brian thought back for a moment, mentally running through his schedule; he'd only been planning to tackle the pile of paperwork on his desk for a few hours after this, but didn't actually need to be in the office until his phone conference with Liberty Air.

"Not until about three," Brian said, scratching his chin. "I have a phone conference then. But, if necessary, I can have Cynthia take it or reschedule it for me. It wasn't anything important; we were just going to go over some numbers for their latest campaign. I can always e-mail them if necessary."

"It shouldn't take that long," Liz reassured them, looking relieved. And that really didn't sit well with Brian at all. "I think it should take no more than an hour."

"Are you sure nothing is wrong," Brian persisted, his hand tightening around Justin's stomach. He really didn't think he could take anything more at this point.

"Yes," Liz waved off his concerns with a smile. "Now stop worrying and enjoy your tour. I'll see you in an hour."

Brian watched her depart, still worried about what she said, but decided to shunt it aside for now. If something had been seriously wrong, she would have called them immediately. And while her words didn't lend any true comfort, he was willing to trust her for now. He had to stop seeing issues before they actually became issues, but it was difficult. Too many things had happened too quickly lately and he just didn't need something more to worry about at this juncture.

Pressing closer to Justin, they'd met up with the hospital educator, as apparently there was a shortage of nurses that day and the nurse assigned take them around was needed to assist in a birth. Their first stop was in registration, where the educator advised them it would be wise to preregister so that they didn't have to wait around and fill out papers when Justin wouldn't likely to be in the mood to deal with it.

Justin nodded emphatically at that, and suggested they do it after the tour, but before they go see Liz; Brian didn't see any problem with that at all. He hated paperwork in general and was certain that they would both be too busy dealing with the actual labor to care about it at that point.

From there they went to triage, where the educator explained that this where the nurse would not only admit Justin; but they would also monitor Justin's vitals and assess whether or not he was ready for delivery. from there, they then were headed to the family waiting rooms; and Brian couldn't help but snort at the size of it. There was no way in hell that they could fit the family in there; hopefully there was another waiting room where the excess could spill into or they were shit out of luck. Then, they toured an unused labor and delivery suite, and an unoccupied postpartum room.

Justin and the educator chattered away the entire time, with Justin asking dozens of questions that Brian wouldn't have even thought of; it was obvious that the little twat had done his research as he carefully noted things down in a notebook. Brian shook his head; if only he was that organized about everything else in his life.

The tour ended with a view of the newborn nursery; and really, Brian had a hard time himself not choking up at Justin's delighted reactions at seeing all the babies, and knowing that some day soon that their Sunbeam would be in there too. Justin wrapped his arms around his stomach, tears in his eyes, even as he beamed up at Brian with excitement. And Brian was hard pressed to hold back a few of his own because, somehow; this tour had just made everything seem that much more real.

Justin asked a few more questions as the walked back to the registration are to do their paperwork, his hands waving excitedly as they discussed the various amenities the hospital had to offer. Brian smirked at his antics, and when Justin finally wound down, Brian ushered him into the registration area; there they spent the next thirty minutes or so going over the paperwork and filling it out, which was peppered by _even more_ questions.

And then, they finally walked out of the hospital itself and crossed the parking lot to surrounding medical offices, where Liz's practice was situated. Walking into the office, Justin sat down while Brian talked to the receptionist and signed in, letting her know that although they didn't have an appointment, that Liz asked them to stop by after their tour today. He filled out the _even more_ paperwork, (and fuck, did he hate this part) and then walked over to sit down next to Justin, who was staring out the window pensively.

Brian watched as Justin chewed on his bottom lip, with his brow furrowed and a far off look in his eyes. He continued to watch the parking lot for several minutes, his fingers working nervously on the arms of the chair,so wrapped up, that he hadn't even noticed that Brian was sitting next to him yet.

"What's wrong?" Brian asked, trying to garner his husband's attention; but Justin was either ignoring him, or he hadn't heard him. And judging by the dazed look on his face, Brian was certain it was the latter.

Worried, Brian gently shook his shoulder, startling his husband out of whatever trance he'd gone into. Blue eyes looked up at him, wide and fearful, his body tense and ready for flight until he registered who was sitting next to him. And then he sighed and slowly relaxed, his body slumping into the chair.

"Justin?" Brian probed, trying to get an answer for his behavior.

"What?" Justin asked a bit absently, looking out the window once more before shaking his head and turning away with a frown.

"I asked if something was wrong," Brian prodded again, his own frown intensifying. "You've been staring off into space for a couple of minutes."

"I thought I saw…" Justin said, and then trailed off and shook his head again.

"Thought you saw what?" Brian prompted, looking out the window, but seeing nothing out of the ordinary. That didn't mean that he didn't believe Justin, just that whatever had spooked his husband was gone.

"Never mind," Justin said a bit more firmly, his lips compressing into a thin, white line, his eyes on fire as he looked back towards the window one final time. And then he squared his shoulders and turned away. "I'll tell you when we get home."

Brian opened his mouth to argue, but they were called into the office at that moment and he shelved the topic for the time being. Justin went through the typical vitals intake – blood pressure, weight, temp, etc. – and then they were ushered into an exam room. They sat there, the both of them silent as they mulled over this last little episode. This was getting ridiculous; fuck, he couldn't wait until the police caught up to this asshole so that they would stop jumping at shadows, no matter how real or imagined they may be.

Shaking his head as the door opened, Brian decided to focus on the matter at hand; there was time enough to deal with the stalker after this. Justin and Sunbeam were much more important at this given time as he was still concerned about Liz's words.

"Hey Liz," Justin greeted, back to his typical sunshine self and smiling broadly as his doctor entered the room.

"Hello Justin, Brian," Liz greeted, a chart in her hands; she walked over to the examination table, where Justin had been sitting. "So, before we get to why I had you come in today; tell me how you've been feeling? Have you had any further issues since you were last in the hospital?"

"Not really," Justin said with a small shrug. "I've been feeling pretty good recently, with the exception of being tired in the afternoons. But after a quick cat nap, I'm usually fine."

"That's good to hear," Liz said, noting the information into the chart. She looked through it, leafing through a few papers before addressing Justin once more. "Based on the vitals the nurse took, I see that you finally started gaining the weight that you needed."

"I'd be shocked if he hadn't," Brian muttered, snickering when Justin scowled and hissed at him. "The way he eats these days is awe inspiring."

"Shut up," Justin huffed, rolling his eyes when Liz just laughed; Justin's appetite had been a long running joke between Liz and Brian, with Liz herself saying she'd been amazed that Justin hadn't gained more weight than he had during this pregnancy.

"You know it's true, Sunshine," Brian smirked, laughing when Justin flipped him off as soon as Liz turned her back to him. Brian blew him a kiss.

"I also see that you've had your blood work done; that's good," Liz nodded as she continued to jot some things down in the file. "And so far there is no need to worry about gestational diabetes."

"Now that is shocking knowing his sweet tooth," Brian huffed; and really with the number of Twinkies the twat ate, he was surprised he hadn't died of sugar shock yet.

"I married a comedian," Justin said dryly, rolling his eyes at Brian's observations. And then squirming in his seat, he turned back to Liz. "So, not to be impatient…"

"But, truly he is," Brian quipped, laughing when Justin balled up a piece of paper and threw it at him. Liz just laughed it off, quite used to their banter.

"Shut up," Justin said, pointing a finger at him; Brian made a zipping motion over his lips, as Justin turned to Liz again. "What was the reason you needed to see us."

"Well, when we were looking through your files the other day, I noticed something off about the ultrasound you had a couple of weeks ago," Liz said a bit hesitantly, leaning against the bedside tray. Justin's eyes widened in alarm; echoing the panic that flooded through Brian's veins, but Liz just held up a hand. "Now before you panic, nothing is wrong with the baby. It has nothing to do with that."

Brian's panic tamped down a bit, but didn't immediately abate; as she hadn't said anything about Justin or that there wasn't a problem at all; just that there wasn't a problem with Sunbeam. Licking his suddenly parched lips, Brian took a deep breath and asked in an even tone, "So, what is the problem?"

"The reason I asked you to come by is that, somehow, instead of showing you your baby, we played a recording of someone else's ultrasound. So, we need to do it again." Liz said, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

What? Was that even possible? How the hell does something like that happen? Frowning, Brian tried to wrap his mind around it and just couldn't; it didn't make any sense to him. How do you mix something like that up? But, then again, he wasn't a tech expert, nor did he know anything about medical tech, so what did he know?

"What?" Brian asked, echoing his first thought; and then smirked with amusement as Justin echoed his second.

"How does that even happen?" Justin asked with bewilderment, staring at Liz in utter confusion, his hand pressing to his baby bump.

"To be honest, I don't have any explanations really," Liz said, still looking extremely embarrassed. "The only reason I even noticed any issues was that the name on the ultrasound was different than the name on your file. I do know that we had to put off your ultrasound once before because we were having issues with the program and the machine; but I can't even begin to figure out how this happened."

Brian and Justin exchanged confused looks; whatever he had been expecting, it certainly wasn't this. Not to say that he wasn't relieved that it wasn't something much more worse, but it was just an odd thing to happen and he didn't know what to think.

"So, we were hoping that you would have time to do it today," Liz finished in a rush, exhaling explosively. "No charge of course as the error was ours."

"Uh," Justin said with a small shrug; and Brian felt the same way. What else could they do in this situation? They both still wanted to know the gender of the baby. "Sure; I have the time. As long as Brian has the time…"

Brian nodded; after all, it was only about one; he still had an hour and a half before he really had to worry. "Well, it's a good thing that we didn't tell anyone the gender. That would have been fun trying to explain to everything if things had changed and why."

"Good," Liz nodded, heaving a relieved sigh; she moved over to the door and gestured. "So, let's move to the other room and we can get started."

They walked into the other room, and immediately Justin laid down on the bed; he tucked his shirt up under his armpits and lowered his pants to just under his baby bump. And God, if he still wasn't the sexiest thing that Brian had ever seen; Brian met his gaze, and held it, letting him see just how beautiful he was in his eyes. Justin flushed and looked away shyly, hissing as Liz squeezed a dollop of gel on his belly, before meeting them again. They simply stared at each other for a long drawn out moment, each wrapped up in the other, and this moment, before a surprised gasp caught their attention.

"Oh, well, that's surprising..." Liz said a bit nervously, her hand fluttering on the keyboard by the monitor in front of her. Brian instantly turned to her, his heart in his throat. What the fuck did that mean?

"What's surprising?" Justin asked as he swung his head over to the monitor; and then his mouth gaped and his eyes bugged as he stared at the screen.

"Well, I just wasn't expecting this," Liz said a bit flustered, her hands moving in an agitated manner over the keys as she typed something in, her eyes wide as saucers as she stared at the screen.

"What do you mean you weren't expecting this?" Brian asked as he looked up to the screening monitor mounted on the wall in front of him; and then his mouth slackened, and his heart began to beat out a staccato rhythm as just stared, not quite believing what he was seeing. He swallowed thickly, his vision graying around he edges as he asked in a hoarsely squeak. "Am I seeing that correctly?"

His mind tried to process what he was seeing, but kept balking at the image; that couldn't be. But as Brian counted them again and again, his eyes widening each time he did so; he couldn't refute what they were seeing. And yes, he said _them_ , because if this was to be believed…

"If you're seeing three babies, then yes you are," Liz said, laughing a bit nervously as she too stared at the screen. "You don't mind multiples, right?"

Brian just shook his head, the noise in his head growing louder and louder as his blood pulsed, rushing through his veins as it tried to keep up with the rapid pounding of his heart. A cold sweat broke across his brow as he literally felt the color drain from his face, thinking that he must be dreaming because **_THREE_**? What the fuck?

He could barely deal with the thought of one in the beginning; how the fuck was he going to deal with **_three_** at the same fucking time! There was no fucking way. They'd never get any fucking sleep. Pressing his hand to his mouth, Brian swayed, his head swimming as it tried to make sense of what was in front of his eyes, but he couldn't deny it that every time he counted, there were still _**three**_ fucking babies on the screen.

Dropping his head between his knees, Brian closed his eyes as spots danced before his eyes and took several deep breaths, trying to get the thrumming of his heart under control. It was fine. Really. He could do this. So, he wasn't expecting **_three_** babies, but they could make it work somehow. They could get an au pair, or three; and with the help of Mother Taylor, and Deb and Carl and the others, they could do this. Maybe.

Oh, fuck; who the fuck was he kidding? How the fuck were they going deal with _**three**_ babies at once? How do you deal with **_three_** toddlers at once? Fuck! How the fuck were they going to deal with **_three_** fucking teenagers at once!? Gus was bad enough, and he was just starting his teen years; **_three_** at the same time, at the same age. Jesus fuck, his hair would be gray before they were fourteen.

Inhaling deeply, Brian startled when he felt a hand on his shoulder; he looked up at Liz, his mind whirling as he tried to accept his new reality.

"Brian?" Liz asked, holding out a glass of water in her hand. "Are you doing okay? Do you need a glass of water?"

"I'm fine," Brian stammered, taking another couple of breaths in the attempt to get his heart rate under control; but it seemed as if his lungs were crushed in a vise and he couldn't get enough air. Fuck. _**THREE.**_ He looked over at Justin, who was staring at him with laughter in his eyes. "I'm fine; I just need a moment to adjust…"

 **Wait.** His _laughing_ husband!?

Brian trailed off, his eyes narrowing as he stared at the giggling twat on the bed; and in that instant he _knew_ he'd been _played_. There was no way in hell that Justin would be sitting there, cool as a cucumber and laughing if he'd just found out he was having triplets. He'd still be sitting there, staring at the screen, completely catatonic at the very least; or he'd be cursing up a storm and throwing the biggest bitch fit in the world, blaming Brian for this at the worst. There was no way in hell he'd find this situation amusing unless the little twat had planned this somehow.

"Bull. Shit." Brian said, his eyes narrowing further as he pointed a shaking finger at his husband; Justin just laughed, his eyes sparkling with deviltry.

"Whatever do you mean, honey?" Justin said, trying to affect an innocent look, but the twat was laughing too hard for it to work.

"I call bullshit," Brian hissed, scrubbing a hand over his face as his heart finally started come down to a normal rate; fucking, little pain in the ass, twat. He was so going to kill him for this. "There is no way you could be having **_three_** ; you're not big enough."

"Well, everyone shows differently, Brian," Liz said very seriously, but her eyes were sparkling with humor. "I have met some carriers who didn't even know they were pregnant until the last month or so because they didn't show much at all. They thought they were just gaining a bit of weight. It is possible…"

"Possible," Brian agreed, staring at his still giggling husband; he was so going to pull the little brat over his knee when they got home. _Jesus fucking Christ_. "But not likely. I _know_ you, you little twat."

"Are you implying that we're lying to you?" Justin blinked, all faux innocence; and then he cracked up again, holding his stomach as he laughed, tears streaming from his eyes.

The fucking twat; when he got through with him…

"I'm saying that I _know_ you're lying to me," Brian huffed, slumping back into his chair and scrubbing a hand over his face again. He pinned his husband with gimlet eye. "I'm on to you, Sunshine." Justin just smiled, completely unrepentant. Brian shook his head. " And I also suppose expect me to pay for this little prank of yours?"

"Nope," Justin chortled gleefully, popping the end of it. "It's all covered.

"You are so paying for this when we get home, brat," Brian huffed, ignoring Liz as she walked out the door to give them some privacy. And that only set his husband off on another round of giggles.

_Oh, yes; laugh while you can, brat._

"I guess next time you'll leave my fucking Twinkies alone," Justin smirked, his eyes gleaming with humor as he let Brian know that he was onto him as well.

_Oh, it was so on, little boy._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I don't believe for one minute that anything like this would ever happen in a real hospital/doctor's office setting, but that is the beauty of artistic license. You can twist reality a bit for the sake of humor. Also, I had edited this once and lost all the changes to it, and had to re-edit it; but I couldn't remember all the changes I made, so hopefully it reads okay.


	52. February 19

**February 19 – (24 weeks)**

Justin walked through the halls of Kinnetik, nodding and smiling to people as he passed, but didn't bother to stop to talk to them as he was a man on a mission. And stopping would have meant that it would have taken that much longer for him to get to Brian, and he didn't think that he could put off his hunger for even one more second. As it was, he'd felt like it was gnawing his insides to ribbons.

Turning a corner, he screeched to a halt and threw his hand up in front of him as he nearly collided with Murph, who was coming down the hall from the opposite direction. Grasping the other man's arms to stabilize him, Justin apologized profusely for not watching where he was going and was about to squat down and help him pick up his papers, when Murph flushed and waved him off. Justin blushed too, recalling vividly just why the man still couldn't look him in the eye and with one more quick apology, continued down the hall.

Trotting into the reception area outside Brian's office, still flushed and a bit breathless as he always seemed to be these days, Justin smiled as Yasmeen looked up, her phone pressed to her ear. Holding up one finger, she turned back to the caller and very sweetly told them that if they didn't get their asses in gear and get the proofs on her desk in an hour as they promised, Kinnetik would be shopping for a new graphic artist.

Justin snickered as the person on the other end of the phone tried to protest, but Yasmeen very ruthlessly explained that he had signed a contract, spelling out all the terms and conditions of his employment, and that she'd didn't care if the fucking Pope had showed up on his doorstep asking for his services. A promise was a promise; and if he didn't get them here, within the time frame he'd agreed upon, Kinnetik would be invoking the fiscal penalties written into said contract and they _would_ be shopping around for a more reliable graphic artist.

After another moment, a shark-like smile slid over Yasmeen's face as she politely thanked the likely trembling artist and said she looked forward to seeing him soon.

"Vicious," Justin snickered as Yasmeen hung up the phone."

"I hate outside contractors," Yasmeen grumbled, noting something in her computer before turning to Justin with a pleading look. "Why can't you come work at Kinnetik. You draw circles around these idiots and I can actually stand you."

"Because Brian and I would kill each other," Justin smirked, quite familiar with this refrain. And it was the truth; as much as they loved each other, they were so not compatible in the work environment. Brian was anal and liked everything in its place; and Justin's work environment was a study in controlled chaos, and a barely controlled one at that.

"Well, we definitely wouldn't want that," Yasmeen said with a put upon sigh; she turned to the stack files on her desk and began to flip through them, assessing what needed to done now and what could wait. "God knows we'd never survive the fallout if anything happened to either one of you."

"Is he in there?" Justin asked, nodding toward the closed door.

"Yup," Yasmeen nodded, flipping open the first folder with a snap. "He just finished his weekly meeting with Murph. And free for the next two hours; I made sure to keep his schedule clear until one, just as you requested."

"You're a gem," Justin said, dropping a kiss on her cheek before heading for Brian's door; and then paused, his mouth gaping a little when Yasmeen flashed him a cheeky smile and asked in a teasing voice.

"Do I need to make myself scarce?" Yasmeen asked, an amused glint in her eyes as she gestured to her desk.

"What do you mean?" Justin asked, his eyes narrowing just a tad as Yasmeen just laughed and then smirked knowingly. Justin flushed; _what was_ it with people thinking that he was a sex fiend these days?

"Just wondering if this is the kind of lunch where I should make my scarce," Yasmeen clarified, her eyes going round and wide, and her smile taking on a note of innocence. _Yeah, right_.

"You're terrible," Justin snorted, knocking on the door and then grabbing the knob when he heard Brian giving the okay to enter. "I'm going to tell Brian."

"Go for it," Yasmeen goaded, turning back to her files with a smirk. "He'd probably applaud me for my forethought."

"Terrible," Justin said again, shaking his head as he opened the door and walked in.

Brian looked up from his computer and then leaned back in his chair with that smile that always made Justin's insides twist. Closing the door behind him, he walked over to his desk and leaned down to kiss him gently on the lips. Brian hummed and cupped the back of his head, deepening the kiss until they were both breathless and panting.

"Your assistant gets cheekier by the day," Justin said as he pulled away and sat down in one of the chairs in front of Brian's desk.

"What did she do this time?" Brian asked, a resigned look on his face.

"She wanted to know if it was the kind of lunch where she needed to make herself scarce," Justin snickered, toying with a pen on Brian's desk. "I do believe that was her way of saying that if we're going to have sex she doesn't want to hear it."

Brian smirked, his tongue pressed into his cheek as he slid his eyes slowly over Justin's body. Justin barely held back a groan, his body instantly heating up under his husband's hungry gaze and cursed himself for saying anything; because he now had two warring hungers to sate, and he didn't know which was the stronger one at this point.

"So, is it?" Brian asked, arching a brow as his eyes slowly slid back up to meet Justin's; and then he smirked as Justin squirmed in his seat, his dick already half hard.

Fuck, these hormones were going to be the fucking death of him. Literally.

"I see where she gets it from," Justin said dryly, trying to think of things that didn't involve having Brian ripping his clothes off, laying him down on his desk and fucking the shit out of him, and not having much success with it.

"What's the point of having an assistant that doesn't know her place?" Brian snorted, getting up from his desk; he moved his desk lamp out of the way and sat on the edge in a very familiar gesture that did nothing at cooling Justin's libido.

"Ooohhhh," Justin said, a smirk flitting across his lips. "I wouldn't let her hear you say that. You'd never be able to trust what was in your coffee after that."

"Which is why, _you_ , as my loving husband, won't say a word, will you?" Brian said, hooking his foot around the base of the chair and pulling Justin closer to him. And fuck, Justin was so fucking tempted, but he really needed food as well.

"Maybe," Justin said, sucking on his lips as his eyes slid over his husband's body; and fuck, at the age of forty-two, he didn't look a day over thirty-five. His body was still hard and toned and fucking sexy as hell and Justin just wanted to eat him up. Flicking his eyes back up, he deliberately licked his lips and asked. "What do I get out of it?"

"Well, if you'd get your sweet ass over here," Brian rumbled, spreading his legs in invitation. "I could give you a sample."

And Justin considered it; oh, God, how he considered it, but then his stomach gurgled its protest and he knew that sex was just going to have to wait for now. Brian looked at his stomach with dismay and arched a brow, a mildly exasperated look on his face.

"Tempting," Justin snickered, leaning back in the chair. "But I was at the art store all morning and I'm starving; so you need to feed me."

"Of course you are," Brian huffed, rolling his eyes as he got up and walked around his desk to type something into his computer.

"And since we are no longer avoiding the diner…" Justin continued, ruthlessly employing his puppy dog eyes.

"Who says we're not?" Brian huffed, eyeing him wearily; shaking his head when Justin jutted his lip out in a pout. "Just because we're talking to Deb…

"I want greasy, cheesy, bad-for-me, food," Justin declared, his stomach rumbling in agreement.

"Of course you do," Brian said dryly, rolling his eyes again; but he did begin to gather his wallet and keys. So score one for him. "My kid is going to be a butterball before they're even born."

" _My_ kid is going to actually appreciate food, not look at as merely something to fuel your body," Justin scoffed, scooting the chair back in its original position.

"Wait, what were you doing at the store?" Brian asked out of the blue, a small frown on his face. "Don't you usually buy your supplies online?"

And fuck; he'd been hoping he hadn't caught that part.

"I have that new show that I'm prepping for next year," Justin shrugged, getting comfortable as he knew that Brian wouldn't drop it anytime soon. "And I wanted to look at some of the paints. It's one thing to order paints that I use on a regular basis over the net, and another to try buying new colors over it. No matter how good the pictures are, the colors are always off. Better that I see them in person."

"Please tell me you didn't go alone," Brian demanded, his frown deepening as he skirted the desk and sat down in front of him

"I didn't go alone," Justin parroted dutifully, huffing when Brian scowled.

"Justin." Brian gave him that _look_ ; the one that said that Justin was treading on thin ice and made him want to balk and dig his heels in and be a complete brat about it as he told Brian he was a big boy and he could take care of himself. But he didn't; he swallowed the urge. Barely.

"Look, John came with me as he had a bunch of shit to do as well," Justin huffed impatiently; just because he'd decided not to purposely poke the beast didn't mean he wasn't irritated. "So, he helped me with my stuff at the store and dropped me off here, and then went off to do his shit and he'll take everything home. I figured we'd go to lunch, and then I'd spend the afternoon here harassing your art team, and then we'd go home together. I was watched the whole time, Dad."

"Watch it, Sonny Boy," Brian warned Justin in a firm voice, making Justin squirm again in his seat. Fucking tease. He knew exactly what that did to Justin. "Don't make me take you over my knee."

"Don't hurt me, Daddy," Justin pleaded in high-pitched voice, widening his eyes in a way that had Brian murmur something about ' _drowning in an ocean of blue_.'

Of course, right after he'd demanded Justin thoroughly check him over to make sure that he still had a dick because he couldn't believe he'd said something so lesbionic. Not that Justin minded; it had been a rather enjoyable night of demonstrating just how much Brian _was not_ a lesbian, and _was_ still the stud that he'd always been.

"Brat," Brian snorted, relaxing now that he was aware that John had accompanied Justin to the store. "And you know damned well that Murph and the others would be ecstatic to see you. I think they like you more than they do me."

"Well, maybe if you didn't terrorize them on a daily basis," Justin huffed, eyeing his husband with no little exasperation. "They would stop buying voodoo dolls with your face on them."

"Touché," Brian smirked, and then rolled his lips under for a moment before continuing. "Look, I know that you don't like having people hovering; but until this asshole is caught, I would feel better if you weren't alone, especially as…"

Brian winced and trailed off, obviously unhappy that he was about to reveal more than he'd intended. Justin just arched a brow and waited him out; but when it became obvious that Brian wasn't going to continue, Justin decided to take matters into his own hands.

"Especially as…?" Justin prompted, wondering if the man was ever going to come clean on what he knew about the break-in. Brian pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.

"There was an incident at Bloom's," Brian stated slowly; and Justin could tell that he was choosing his words carefully. Justin decided to indulge him for the moment. "The reason Sydney had to postpone your show wasn't because of an issue of the pipes, but because there was a break-in."

"I know," Justin said, smirking when Brian snapped his mouth shut and just stared at him. Justin raised his brows and shrugged.

"What do you mean, _you know_?" Brian demanded, obviously annoyed that Justin wasn't as in the dark as he'd thought. It almost made him laugh, but again, he bit his tongue because it would've just pissed Brian off further. "They said that they'd let me tell you…"

Justin huffed and rolled his eyes.

"You guys honestly didn't think you could keep it from me did you?" Justin scoffed, instantly shutting down Brian's queen out. "Brian, there was an article in the paper about it; it mentioned my name and you know damned well what that means…"

"Your monitoring service…" Brian said, cursing under his breath as he realized just how fruitless their subterfuge had been; Justin just smirked. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"I was waiting to see if you guys would come clean," Justin said, his mouth set into a thin line; Brian had the grace to blush and look sheepish. "By the way, thank you for doing so, as I would have kicked your ass if you hadn't."

Brian winced, and then exhaled explosively. He reached over and pulled Justin out his chair and wrapped his arms around him. He leaned his head against Justin's and just seemed to breathe him in for a moment. Justin wrapped his arms around Brian's neck and kissed him softly, lingering for a moment as they shared air.

"I just want you safe," Brian whispered as they parted; he rolled his lips under. "As, I've said before, I want you around for a long time."

Justin sighed; he tipped his head back and stared into his husband's eyes, smoothing his hair away from his face as he said:

"Having all the information available will do a better job of protecting me than keeping it under wraps. What if I had gone into Sydney's by myself one day, thinking that I was perfectly safe in doing so because he has some of the best security around? Had I not been aware that the stalker had somehow gotten access to the building, I could have gotten myself into a jam and been easily cornered in any of those store rooms."

"How do you know it was the stalker?" Brian asked, mostly out of curiosity it seemed. "I never mentioned…"

"Gut feeling," Justin said; he leaned into Brian and laid his chin on his chest. "Technically, I don't know. But judging by the way you, Sydney and Carl have been acting the past few days… it tells me this wasn't your average criminal breaking in and stealing everything that wasn't bolted down job."

"My little genius," Brian huffed, ruffling his hair and pressing a kiss to his brow. "You have always been far too smart for your own good. And mine as well."

Justin tightened his arms around Brian and just stayed there, both comforting his husband and drawing comfort from Brian as well. He knew that Brian was on edge with everything going on, and this new element, with the stalker escalating, it had to have thrown him badly. He understood why Brian was trying to circle the wagons so to speak, with Justin planted firmly in the center, protected and sheltered. He got it. He did. But Brian also needed to realize that he couldn't protect him from everything.

"So," Justin said, turning a few thoughts over in his head; he needed clarification on a few facts to set the puzzle to rest. "I get them wanting to keep details quiet, given that it's an ongoing investigation, but just tell me one…well, no, two things."

Brian looked wary, but nodded nonetheless.

"First, was it one of mine?" Justin asked, his look and tone brooking no arguments; he would find out in time anyways, so there was no reason to keep it from him.

"Yes," Brian said, his eyes flitting over Justin's face as if he was trying to figure out just where Justin was going with this. Justin nodded.

"Second, was it from the current show?" Justin asked; and this was the clincher.

If it was, well, that would negate a few ideas he had on what was happening. It wouldn't make much sense in his head, but it would put a few questions to rest. But if it wasn't, that narrowed the field considerably as Justin was well aware of which paintings Sydney had in his possession that weren't part of the upcoming show. And this answer would definitely give him a clearer idea of where to focus his attention.

"No." Brian said, his eyes narrowing as if he'd just realized where Justin was going with his questions, which wouldn't have surprised Justin at all. His husband was no slouch in the brain department.

"I really want to ask which one it was," Justin said, a knowing look on his face; yeah, it was exactly as he'd suspected. "But I won't. I think I can guess just based on your reaction and what I know Sydney has in stock."

"Like I said, you have always been a clever little devil," Brian sighed, now more than a little exasperated. Justin just smiled as innocently as he could.

"Good thing for you too," Justin quipped, biting him lightly on the chin. "You'd be bored otherwise."

"Boring is a word that I'd _never_ use for you, Sunshine," Brian snorted, and then laughed as Justin's stomach made its presence known again. "Now let's get you some food before your stomach decides to eat itself." Brian pulled him close and ground the dicks together, making Justin moan as he murmured against his ear. "And then, you can come back here and feed another appetite before you go play in my art department. It's been a while since I've fucked you over my desk."


	53. February 20

**February 20**

Brian leaned back in his chair, he head throbbing as he tried to make sense of everything he'd learned when he'd met up with Detective Nakamura, or Tak as he preferred to be called, and Carl this afternoon. He pinched the bridge of his nose and dug his fingers into his eyes in the hopes of relieving the pressure built up behind them, absolutely frustrated with the way the case was going. Or, in reality, how it _wasn't_ going.

He'd hoped that with this newest break-in, that the police might have had some definitive answers for who was doing this and a plan for bringing the asshole to justice. At the very least, he'd hoped that they'd have a list of suspects that he could identify. But it had been nothing like that as they didn't have _anything_.

Or at least, nothing of great importance.

Exhaling harshly, Brian reached into his drawer and pulled out a small bottle of pills; he opened it, shook two out and dry-swallowed the aspirins, hoping that they would ease some of the ache in behind his eyes. But he knew it would do nothing for the ache in his heart or the helpless rage and fear that was bubbling in his gut.

He'd hoped to have some answers for Justin when he went home tonight; but from what the good detective said, unless this asshole struck again and acted a lot more carelessly than he had before, they were at a dead end as there just wasn't enough evidence to make even a half-assed identification.

And fuck; those words had really rankled when Brian had heard them; he had been so close to popping, that he  was surprised that he'd handled it as calmly as he did.

 

_"_ _Please tell me that you have something on this asshole," Brian said wearily, scrubbing a hand over his face, feeling his fatigue down to his bones._

_It had been a rough night, with Justin waking up due to some vivid dream that he was being chased down a long, dark hall, with no end in sight, and his stalker just a hairbreadth behind him at all times. And Brian didn't know just how much more of this that he could take. He'd hated the feeling of helplessness that washed over him as he held Justin's shuddering form,trying to quietly soothe him back into sleep.it had been a fucking nightmare of its own.  
_

_"_ _Unfortunately, there isn't much to go on," Tak said, a regretful note in his voice; he sighed and looked just as tired and downtrodden as Brian did as he flipped through his notes. "Whoever did this was smart; very smart, and they didn't leave much usable evidence behind."_

_"_ _What do you mean?" Brian asked, dread curling in his stomach; he'd hoped that by now they'd have some answers for him, if not an actual solution; and to hear that they didn't have anything made him want to scream._

_"_ _Well there were no fingerprints at either your loft or the gallery for starters; outside of those that were expected to be there that is," Tak said, rubbing his hand over his face. "Not even a partial, which leads us to believe that the perpetrator was likely wearing gloves."_

_Brian exhaled explosively and cursed under his breath, his agitation growing as Tak flipped a page in his file._

_"_ _There was also was no security footage that was of any help," Tak continued with a grim look. "Somehow the perp knew exactly where the cameras were located at your place; or, at least, he or she knew where they were at the doors and inside the stairs and halls." Tak shook his head, his brow pinched. "And once inside, he was masked just as he was during the gallery break-in. And those he took out almost immediately."_

_Brian exchanged a helpless look with Carl, whose own face was somber at the news._

_"_ _Again, there were no prints at the gallery," Tak said, as he continued flipping through the pages. "All keys to the place were accounted for, including a set that the granddaughter of a former employee turned in, yet the locks weren't jimmied. Tried to follow up every key-holder, and all were cleared but the former employee and the granddaughter; but **they** were also out of the country at the time and have been gone for over a week." Tak paused to scratch his brow. "We did get a partial footprint in the gallery. But without other evidence, it doesn't do much good."_

_Brian huffed and scrubbed his hand over his hair, his ire growing with each new detail. "What about the photo? If he handled it as often at it would seem he did, surely he wouldn't have been wearing gloves every time he handled it."_

_"_ _We got a couple of partials," Tak said, sitting back in his chair. "But they were too small to get anything useful. Most of it was smudged due to the constant handling. And even then, it's not like on the TV, where you input a fingerprint and instantly get a match. What you typically get is a number of likely matches that you then have to then compare against the print and look for certain distinguishing points. It's not something you can just overlay and go, yup that's it! The elasticity of skin, smudging, and other environmental factors can make matching difficult."_

_"_ _So, basically, you're saying that this entire method is for shit." Brian growled his frustration, waving off a concerned Carl when he moved to say something. He knew that this wasn't the detective's fault; and he was more angry about the situation than anything, but he was beyond frustrated and he **hated** not knowing things!_

_"_ _I'm saying that they help with narrowing the field," Tak said with a shrug. "With a positive identification, they can be a great way to link a suspect to a crime; especially when factored with other identifying evidence. But they aren't the home run that Hollywood_ _would have you believe. And with a lack of evidence, all we can do is hope this asshole trips up, and soon."_

_"_ _Well, that's just great," Brian said sarcastically, his lips compressing into a thin line as he sat back and listened to the rest of the report, but his mind was already trying to figure out how to best protect his husband._

 

Brian shook his head and then winced as the motion sent pain lancing through his head worse than before; reaching over, he grabbed his water bottle and took a long drink. The rest of the meeting with Tak had gone pretty much the same way – there were interesting tidbits and similarities between the two break-ins, but nothing substantial had been found nor was there anything they could do anything with. The only things of note that Tak needed to follow up on was the fact that Sydney and he had employed the same cleaning service and security service for the loft and the gallery.

Tak was hoping to find a lead there; otherwise they were fucked.

And just knowing that made Brian uneasy. He'd trusted both companies for a long time; and he would hate for either of them to have been involved in any way. Thankfully, he didn't use either for Britin, as he and Justin had decided to go with a security company closer to the house; and Anna and John, along with their daughter, Maggie, and son, Eric, took care of the upkeep of the house and grounds. The only time they hired outside help was when they were planning a large party at the house.

He'd also brought Tak up to date on a few things that Justin had confided in him last night; namely that, while they'd been at the hospital the other day, Justin was certain that he'd seen someone watching them as they crossed the parking lot. But more importantly than that, he was almost one hundred percent positive that he'd seen this same person lurking when they'd been in Geneva-by-the-Lake. In fact, Justin was ready to go on record and swear that they were the same person.

What had been even more disturbing, was that the height, weight and build of the person he'd seen both times, was also similar to the guy who'd grabbed him at the store. Now, had it been anyone else, Brian would have dismissed it as paranoia; but Justin had an accurate eye and noticed things that others didn't. And he'd distinctly recalled that the jacket both men had been wearing. Or really, he remembered the stylized wolf on the back of the jacket; which to his eyes, looked like it had been a custom design, not something mass-produced.

Even more disturbing was the fact that Justin also swore that the voice that had called him ' _angel_ ' while they'd been watching the parade in Geneva, was the same as the voice that had spoken to him in the grocery store. Although, that bit he'd been a bit more hesitant to confirm as there had been a lot of background noise at the parade and he could be wrong.

Still, it had been enough to send a chill down Brian's spine.

Fuck, he didn't know what to do.

He knew that Justin was going to want an update when he got home, and he didn't really want to tell him that they were shit out of fucking luck because this asshole was playing it smart at the moment and doing nothing to give himself away. He really didn't want to see the pinched expression on his husband's face or have to listen him cry out in the middle of the night again because he was dreaming of this asshole closing in on him.

Sitting up, Brian began packing up his briefcase; he knew that there was no way in hell that he was going to get any fucking work done for the rest of the day. Better to just go home, wrap Justin up in his arms and try again tomorrow. Sliding some files into his bag, just on the off chance that he might get inspired later, Brian looked around and stood, and was just about to tell Yasmeen that he was leaving, when she'd buzzed him.

"Yes," Brian said as he activated the intercom.

"Mr. Taylor-Kinney," Yasmeen said, her formal tone and hint of annoyance setting him instantly on edge; somehow, he knew that he was going to regret answering.

"Yes, Yasmeen," Brian said, praying that whatever it was would be quick and painless and he could fucking leave soon after. "What is it? I was just packing up and about to tell you I was leaving for the day?'

He said that last bit pointedly; hoping that whoever was waiting would get a fucking clue and leave him alone.

"There is a Benjamin Bruckner here to see you," Yasmeen announced, sounding like she would rather get a root canal than announce his presence. Brian barely held back a snort at how accurate that image was; she was not a fan of the Novotny-Bruckners. "He was wondering if you might spare him a few minutes to talk."

Fucking hell; just what he fucking needed - a pow wow with Zen Ben. Could this day get any fucking worse? Actually scratch that; he should know better than to tempt the fates by asking that question.

"Send him in," Brian sighed heavily, and barely held back the string of expletives that wanted to flow after that statement. "But after this, I'll be leaving and working from home for the rest of the day. let the masses know that they better not call me unless it's an emergency."

"Yes, Mr. Taylor-Kinney," Yasmeen acknowledged with no little disgruntlement; and Brian couldn't quite quell his laughter as he could easily imagine her staring at Ben as if she'd smelled something foul.

"And Yasmeen," Brian said with a knowing smirk, having heard what had started her foul mood in the first place. "Go home before you make the rest of my admin staff cry and I have to hire an entire new staff."

"Whatever," Yasmeen huffed, not at repentant about the girl she sent scurrying back to her office in tears. "It's not my fault that Darla's an incompetent nitwit. I explained the system to her _three_ times before I left. How she managed to schedule three accounts for the same time spot, I don't know; but she needed to be told that she needs to pay more attention to what she's doing and not flirting with Garrett in legal. Do you know how much I hate dealing with Kellie at Eyeconics? Let alone having to tell her that we have to change her meeting time?"

"All the same," Brian snickered, recalling just how pissed off she'd been when she'd gotten back from lunch and realized the mess the new girl had left her; not to mention the hour she'd spent soothing egos and smoothing the waters because of Darla's incompetence. "Go home."

Deactivating the com, Brian sat back down at his desk and sighed; he really didn't want to deal with this shit today of all days. It had already been shitty, and having to explain to Zen Ben that there was no way in hell that he was going to forgive Michael for his recent shenanigans sounded like a headache in the making. Actually, make that a worse one in the making, since he still hadn't gotten rid of this one. He was in no mood to play nice.

"Brian," Ben greeted as he walked in, closing the door silently behind him. "Thank you for seeing me on short notice."

"Ben," Brian greeted, fighting to keep his face bland; because like hell was he going to make life easier for the other man. Not when he'd purposely been blocking his access to Michael. "What can I do for you?"

"I don't wan to take up too much of your time," Ben said, rubbing the back of his neck; and Brian was hard pressed not to snort at that; _a bit late for that isn't it Zen Ben_? "I just wanted to come and invite you and Justin to dinner with me and Hunter."

"Why?" Brian asked, trying to figure out his game; while Ben hadn't mentioned Michael, Brian wouldn't put it past him to try and ambush the two of them if he thought it would smooth things out between Michael and Brian. And like hell was that going to happen.

"I'm sorry?" Ben asked, seeming a bit surprised by his question; but what had he expected? That Brian would just cave because he asked nicely. _Uh uh, no way asshole; I know whose side you're on and it's not mine._

"Why do you want to see us?" Brian asked, arching a brow as he studied the other man, noting his pinched expression. "Or, more specifically, why should I let any of your family near Justin? The last time that happened, he ended up in the hospital."

"That's fair," Ben nodded, a thin, pained smile on his face. "I can understand you not trusting the invitation after what Michael did."

"Not just Michael," Brian corrected, his lips compressing into a thin line as he stared harshly at the man who had protected Michael. He got it to a point; Michael was his husband. But there comes a point where you have to let the other person face the consequences for their actions; Ben hadn't learned that yet. "You aren't very high on my list either considering what happened after the _Big Q Showdown_ as people like to call it."

"I am sorry about that," Ben said; and he seemed genuine, and Brian wanted to believe him; but he'd also seen Ben lie straight-faced without even flinching. "I was operating under false pretenses."

Brian snorted, shaking his head at that load of bullshit.

"I don't quite believe you on that, Benny Boy," Brian said, rubbing a hand over jaw. "I know that the video went viral. And unlike Deb, who still thinks that computers are a waste of time, I know you are very well versed in social media since you have to deal with that shit on a daily basis with all those college kids around you. I don't believe for a minute that you didn't see the video and you still continued to piss around with me."

Ben flushed red, but remained silent.

"But fine," Brian said held up a hand. "Let's say I do buy into this little fantasy that you're weaving here; what guarantee can you give me that your husband isn't going to ambush Justin the moment we meet you. Because let me tell you, Ben; if this is a thinly disguised, misguided attempt at bringing about some sort of resolution between us, you're wasting your time and mine. And, you won't like me when I'm done sowing the field with your entire family's blood. There are few things in this life that I cherish, but that little blond twat that I married and my sprogs top the list. I will raise bloody hell if anyone even thinks of breathing on them wrong."

"I…" Ben swallowed thickly and looked away. "I understand; and you have my guarantee that Michael will be nowhere near whatever restaurant you chose. Deb and Carl promised to hog tie him to his old bed if necessary."

"Well," Brian said, steepling his fingers as he studied the other man contemplatively. "It does seem that you're all wising up a bit when it comes to Michael's manipulations." Brian paused as he considered the pros and cons of the invitation. "I have to admit, you have me curious; but I can't give you an answer now. I need to talk it over with Justin; and let me tell you this now, if he says no; I will stand by his decision."

"Understandable," Ben nodded, taking the answer with better grace than Brian had expected. "Please feel free to call me anytime and let me know your decision. All I want is a chance to make amends between me, and the two of you; and I have a bit of news that I want to share that will, hopefully, have Justin resting easier. Also, Hunter wanted to be there to, as he put it, ' _congratulate his favorite blond nemesis_.' His words, not mine."

Brian's eyebrows rose, and he was tempted to ask just what kind of news would matter to either him or Justin, but he held mum as he really just wanted to get the fuck out of there and Zen Ben had already wasted more than enough of his time.

"I'll talk to Justin when I get home and let you know," Brian nodded and stood, gathering his things in a not so subtle hint. "Was there anything else?"

"No; have a good evening, Brian," Ben said, nodding again as he turned towards the door. "And say hello to Justin for me."

Brian nodded and watched as the other man walked out of the room before he exhaled explosively and relaxed his stance. _Fuck_ this day. He was so over it. Time to go home, snag his favorite blond twat and forget the rest of these assholes for a while.


	54. February 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was trying to write this from another POV, but it just wouldn't flow. So, you get another Brian POV today, which is why it's being posted so late. He was being stubbornly vocal today.

**February 21**

Brian stood at the front of the conference table, shuffling through some papers in front of him as his chosen team came into the conference room and took their seats at the designated spots. Without looking at them, he handed out a packet of papers to each, and then slid a small tray of cups in front of each of them, ignoring their perplexed expressions as he did so. They would know what was happening soon enough.

Grabbing another packet and his own tray of cups, he rounded the table and sat down at the head of it, meticulously arranging everything in front of him. Looking up, Brian smirked as his three guests stared at the little cups in front of them with confusion for a minute and then looked up at him for an explanation.

"Thank you all for meeting me here today," Brian said, a bland smile on his face as he pulled the packet towards him. "I know that you all have busy schedules, so I do appreciate you taking the time to meet with me for this impromptu task force." He looked up when Emmett hesitantly raised his hand halfway; as if he was still in fucking grade school. Brian arched a brow. "Yes?"

"Um…not that I mind," Emmett said, looking at the other two guests with a bemused smile; which made sense as he was the only non-employee in the room. "But…um…why exactly am I here?"

"I need your expertise as a food service specialist," Brian informed him succinctly; and then turned back to the packet. "Plus, Ted is still on leave and I needed a third person."

"I see," Emmett said, drawing it out in a way that said the exact opposite. He shared another bemused look with Cynthia and Yasmeen, and then shook his head and turned back to Brian.

Brian rose from his seat and gestured to the settings in front of them.

"As you can probably tell from the lettered cups in front of you," he said, turning each of his taster cups to face around, trying to remain as professional as possible. "This is a blind taste test. And in each cup is a different brand of coffee. Beside it, you should also have a lettered information packet for each brand minus the name. If you do not, let me know and I can give you one. What I need, is for you to taste each of these coffees and make notes of what you think of it – taste, color, smell, etcetera; and then rate it, with one being ' _I never want to drink it again_ ' and ten being ' _this is just as good as, if not better than my current brand_.' Any questions?"

This time it was Cynthia that waved her hand.

"Uh, why are we doing this?" she asked as she set aside the packet she'd been studying and faced Brian.

Brian sighed; he knew that if any of them would questioned what he was doing, it would be Cynthia. Not because this was a new thing for her. They were often sent various products to look over and try out all the time, so that they would have a better idea of how to market said item. The problem was that this wasn't for an account. And if anyone knew that information, it would be Cynthia.

But, he had hoped if he'd presented it in a professional manner, she might let it slide for once. He should have known better really. Rolling his lips between his teeth, Brian tried to decide just how much information he wanted to give on the taste testing. Or, well, how little he could get away with saying without it becoming obvious that this was personal request, not a professional one.

"Would you believe me if I said that it was for a potential client and I want to have a blind taste test to see how it stacks up against other brands?" Brian asked, knowing damned well that Cynthia wouldn't buy it even for a minute. But he had to try anyways.

"No," Cynthia said, easily cutting through the bullshit; it was one of the things that Brian loved best about her. He also hated it because she'd always saw right through him, especially when he was trying to spin a story. "If it were a new account, I would have heard about it."

Brian sighed; okay, so half-truth it was.

"I've been thinking about switching my coffee brand," Brian admitted reluctantly; and the thing was, it wasn't lie. It wasn't the whole truth either. "And I wanted to get some expert opinions?"

"Right," Cynthia scoffed, narrowing her eyes as she studied Brian, her brow furrowing in that way that told Brian that she knew something was off, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what yet. "And how are we're your panel of experts?"

"Well," Brian said with a winning smile; one that only seemed to make her all themore suspicious. "I trust all of your judgments and I know you won't bullshit me."

He and Cynthia stared at each other a long moment; the look in her eyes told him that she knew he was full of shit, but she just didn't know why. She really did know him far too well. Brian just smirked and she huffed and turned back to the cups in front of her.

"Uh…if that's the case," Yasmeen piped up, looking at the cups in front of her with barely disguised disgust. "I don't think I'll be much help."

"Why?" Brian asked; and then he scowled as a thought came to mind. "Don't tell me that you drink that instant shit; because if you do, we need to re-educate you on what real coffee truly is."

"Actually, I don't drink coffee at all," Yasmeen shrugged, her nose scrunching up as she continued to stare at the coffee as if it was going to bite her.

"What?" Cynthia said, giving up her staring contest with Brian in favor of looking at the other woman in surprise. Something that Brian fully understood, because really?

"How do you not drink coffee?" Brian asked, staring at his personal assistant as if she'd suddenly sprouted another head. Fuck, he didn't think he could survive one day without his coffee, let alone never drink it again.

"I never cared for the taste of it," Yasmeen said, shrugging again; and still Brian just was not getting it. _Who doesn't like coffee?_ "And a lot of hot drinks make my stomach hurt; so, I don't even drink hot chocolate or cider or anything like that."

Brian stood there, stunned. He'd never heard that before and couldn't wrap his mind around the idea of not liking coffee. It just didn't compute. Yasmeen just stared back unrepentantly and shrugged for a third time, sliding the cups away from her slowly.

"I think you broke him, sweetie," Emmett joked, a smirk on his lips as he watched the interplay. He did, however, pull his tray closer to him; so, at least, Brian knew that he could count on him for this venture."

"How does anyone not drink coffee?" Brian asked, still not getting it. I mean, it was _coffee_ ; the elixir of the Gods. "How do you survive the mornings without coffee?"

"Trust me," Yasmeen snorted, a humorous light glint dancing in her eyes. "With my niece living with me; waking up is not an issue in the morning. Now, staying asleep on the other hand; that is a much more pressing problem. Sleeping in does not happen often."

"I can't even begin to fathom…" Brian said, still caught up in the idea of someone not liking coffee. It made no sense to him.

"So, as I said," Yasmeen smiled and stood, getting ready to leave the room. "I doubt I'll be much help as I can guarantee that it will _all_ taste like crap to me."

"Be gone, you heathen," Brian huffed with disgust, shooing her away. "Find me another minion who appreciates a good brew."

Yasmeen just snorted and left the room; hopefully to find him a normal person who understands the beauty of a perfect cup of coffee in the morning. How the hell can you not like coffee? It just seemed so…he didn't even have the words to say what it was. But it _was_ a travesty, that's for sure. Turning back to Cynthia and Emmett, Brian figured he should get started; he could catch the other person up when they got here.

And he opened his mouth to suggest just that when Emmett raised his hand again. Huffing, Brian pinched the bridge of his nose and prayed for strength; if this kept up, their coffee was going to go cold before they ever got around to drinking it. And then, the taste test wouldn't matter because it would all definitely taste for shit. Heaving a put upon sigh, Brian looked at Emmett and said:

"Yes, Emmett?"

"So," Emmett said as he dropped his hand, a knowing smirk in his lips. "What's this really about, Big Bad?"

"What makes you ask that?" Brian hedged, trying to bluff his way through it.

Emmett's smirk broadened. "I know how much you love your current brand; I remember the extensive taste testing you did just to find it. Why change it now?"

Brian cursed silently in his head and wished that his friends were just a little less smart and didn't know him so well. Rolling his lips between his teeth, he quickly thought up a likely excuse that would be close enough to the truth, but not give the entire thing away.

"I'm looking for a healthier alternative," Brian said slowly, running a hand through his hair, trying to be as nonchalant as possible. "You know, like that organic or all-natural stuff."

He failed, of course; because just as he said that Cynthia sat up straight in her chair and fixed him with a narrow-eyed look, her lips pursed. "Please tell me you aren't trying to replace Justin's coffee with decaf again; because, as I recall, that didn't work out so well for you last time."

Brian winced, cursing under his breath as she hit the nail on the head. Cynthia crowed triumphantly, a wide smile on her lips. Emmett's eyes widened with sudden understanding and then he hissed at the cups in front of him as if they'd betrayed him. Brian sighed and slumped into his chair; well, he might as well come clean.

"Last time" Brian huffed, shooting Cynthia an irritated glare. "I didn't taste it beforehand. I just listened to Ted, who swore Blake never noticed the difference."

"Yes, he did," Emmett refuted, shrugging when Brian looked at him funny. "He just learned to humor Ted and switched it right back to his regular brand after Ted swapped out the beans. Ted never figured it out."

And fuck, he hadn't thought of that; but the good thing was, neither had Justin. This was weird, because usually that was a very Justin thing to do; but maybe he'd just not been the mood to deal with it and went for the in your face method that day.

"Considering that's my CFO; you know, the man in charge of all of my money, that statement really doesn't raise my confidence in him any," Brian said with a frown. Although, that wasn't quite a true statement. He knew damned well that Ted was a wiz when it came to money matters and wasn't worried at all. He was just irritated that he'd been found out and was trying to deflect.

"Please," Emmett rolled his eyes and cast a knowing glance Brian's way. "When it comes to money, Ted's mind is a steel trap. It's everything else he has issues with."

"So, here's a question for you," Cynthia piped up, a smirk on her lips and an amused glint in her eyes. "What are you going to do when he's tired and notices the caffeine isn't working? You know, because there is none."

"I'll cross that bridge when I get there," Brian muttered, still feeling a bit disgruntled that his little plan fell apart before it had even begun. "He's pregnant after all; he was warned that he was likely to feel more tired as time went on. I can play it off."

"Yeah," Emmett scoffed in disbelief; he stood and waved his hand towards the coffee. " No way. Not getting involved in this. I like my balls right where they are, thank you very much. As does Drew. But, you have fun with that and let us know how successful you are."

And with that Cynthia snickered and stood as well, joining Emmett as he walked towards the door.

"Disbelievers," Brian called after them, shoving the packet he'd so carefully created aside. "I will win this."

"Sure you will," Cynthia called back over her shoulder, flashing him a smile that said that she was merely humoring him. "But you know what, your funeral. I'm going back to my office."

Brian huffed again and stood up to clean everything the mess he'd made; he definitely needed new friends.


	55. February 22

**February 22**

"So, an interesting thing happened today," Brian stated quite out of the blue, startling Justin from his thoughts.

Justin looked up from his sketchpad, utterly confused, wondering what could have been so interesting that Brian trekked all the way from his study, and down into the basement media room, where Justin and Gus were watching a movie. Or, well, Gus was watching the movie and Justin had been working on a preliminary sketch for the painting he wanted to do for their bedroom.

The one that would replace... Justin shook his head, and shunted that thought aside in order to focus on Brian. Furrowing his brow, he tried to recall if anything unusual had happened that morning, but nothing came to mind. It had been a relatively quiet day, with even the phone as silent as a tomb for one; which he supposed was unusual in, and of, itself. But then again, it was usually Michael calling and since Brian wasn't speaking to him...

"Oh?" Justin asked, wondering where Brian was going with this; which seemed to be the exact opening that Brian was looking for as he grinned and prowled into the room in a very distinctly predatory manner. One that did not make his dick hard. Nope, not at all. "What happened?"

"Earlier this morning, while you were still sleeping," Brian said with a knowing smirk, coming up to lean against the couch that Justin was sitting on, his arms crossed over his chest. "Gus decided that he wanted to play Mario Kart, and challenged me to a game."

"Okaaaay." Justin drew the word out, still uncertain where Brian was going with it; he tried to think of what could be so unusual by that; but, frankly, it just sounded like a typical Saturday morning to him. Unless… "Did you actually win this time?"

Gus snorted and Brian scowled; he leaned over and flicked Gus in the ear. Gus scowled and moved away, dropping to the floor in front of the TV set. Okay, so it wasn't _that_. Justin rolled his lips under and stared at Brian, completely at a loss.

"Not ringing any bells, Sunshine?" Brian taunted as he placed his hands on the arm of the couch and leaned forward, a feral grin splitting his face.

"Should it?" Justin asked, utterly bewildered; he had no idea what Brian was hinting at; although, based on the way Brian was acting, Justin supposed that _he_ had something to do with it. He just didn't see what he could've done to put that smirk on Brian's face; he'd slept until nearly noon that day.

"Hmmmm…" Brian hummed and lifted one hand; he reached behind his back and pulled something out of his pocket, holding it out in front of him. "This jog your memory any?"

Justin's eyes widened as he stared at the innocuous yellow, sponge cake in Brian's hand and cursed under his breath. _Fuck_. He'd thought that he'd moved those the other day! But he must have gotten distracted and forgotten, considering the evidence was staring him in the face.

Well, fuck; how the hell was he going to explain this one?

Justin chewed on his lower lip. When they'd gotten home from the prank ultrasound; Brian had told him that, if he was going to eat the little snack cakes, he would prefer that Justin eat the ones he ordered as they were made with organic ingredients. And Justin had complied; the ones Brian had bought did taste a hell of lot better. And even he could see the appeal of them over the real Twinkies, which were filled preservatives.

And then the asshole had held him down on the bed and tortured him with his lips and tongue until Justin promised not to buy the others again. A promise that he hadn't broken by the way, as he'd purchased the Twinkies _before_ the agreement; but he doubted that Brian would the distinction.

He was so fucked.

"I see _that_ caught your attention," Brian continued, stalking towards Justin slowly, prompting him to clamber off of the sofa and round it, trying to keep some distance between himself and his husband. Because he _also_ remembered the agreed upon punishment if he broke said promise. "Imagine my surprise, when we opened the cabinet where the games and consoles are stored, only to find a box of Twinkies."

Justin hissed, wishing that he'd remembered to move them yesterday. He so didn't need to get his ass spanked today, not to mention the other delicious, yet inappropriate, forms of torture Brian insisted on.

"Sorry, Jus," Gus piped up, sending Justin a sympathetic smile over his shoulder. "I tried to play it off and tell him that they were mine, but he wouldn't believe me."

And that was why he loved this boy; best son ever. Even if it hadn't worked, he had his Papa's back.

"Damned right I didn't believe you," Brian snorted, and slowly circled the couch again, snickering when Justin scurried towards the opposite end. And then Justin scowled and halted in his tracks, offering up a rude gesture to let Brian know what he thought of that. "I know my little twat far too well."

"They could have been his!" Justin huffed, scowling and scurrying away again as Brian just continued his slow prowl. Brain snorted and didn't bother to answer; which Justin didn't blame him. If the roles had been reversed, he would have believed him either. Not that he was going to admit to that. "Well, they could have been!"

Brian just shook his head sadly at Justin. "I thought we agreed that I would back off on the Twinkie thing, if _you_ agreed to eat the ones that I bought for you?"

And well, yes they had; but surely the ones he'd bought were granfathered into the deal. It would have been an utter waste otherwise; and Justin hated wasting food. Huffing, Justin moved away from the couch, towards the door and then stood his ground, his eyes warily following his husband ambling steps as he stalked towards him. "We _did_ ," he agreed, crossing his arms over his chest. "But, I bought those a few days before we made our deal and then forgot about them."

Brian snorted again and stepped right up, toe to toe with Justin; he leaned in and arched a brow. Justin defiantly jutted his chin out; he rested his hands on his hips and leaned in until they stood nose to nose as well, showing Brian that he wasn't going to be intimidated.

Brian smirked at the challenge and met it, whispering against Justin's lips, "Then why are there two missing?"

Justin's eyes widened; his head snapped back and he cursed under his breath once more as he knew he'd been caught, sending Brian into a round of guffaws. _Fuuuuuuck_ ; he had forgotten that he'd opened the box yesterday when he couldn't find the snack cakes that Brian had bought him. And he _had_ looked. High and low, nearly tearing the house apart in his enthusiasm; but nothing turned up.

So, he caved, and ripped open the box of creamy, sponge cake goodness figuring Brian would never know the difference.

Of course, he could have just called Brian and asked; but these were readily available and it wasn't like he expected Brian to find out as he'd planned to move them. But that obviously didn't happen and now he was paying the price. He supposed he could have lied and said he ate them before they made their agreement, but Justin didn't like lying to Brian, even over something so small. Unless it was obvious it was an outright lie.

Like now.

"Mice?" Justin offered weakly, a sheepish grin on his face.

Brian just stared at him incredulously.

What? It was his story and he was sticking to it.

Grinning unrepentantly, Justin just stared right back as if butter wouldn't melt in his mouth. Fuck it. If he was going to get in trouble, might as well make Brian work for it. Brian exhaled explosively, pinched the bridge of his nose and muttered under his breath about ' _smart-ass husbands that needed to be taught a lesson_.' Hearing that, Justin slowly backed away, heading for the door as Brian looked up and shook his head; he rolled his lips under in that look where he was trying to be stern, but really meant he was trying not to laugh.

"Here, Sonny Boy," Brian said, tossing the Twinkie to Gus, who caught it and opened it immediately. "You can have the rest of them as well; just don't eat them all in one sitting, please. I need to have a discussion with your other father."

"A discussion, _right_ ," Gus huffed, rolling his eyes as he turned back to the TV. "I'll stay here then; you know, in that basement, with the TV up so that I'm not traumatized by another of your ' _discussions_.'"

Justin flushed as Gus grabbed the remote and did just that, and then went back to ignoring his fathers. Brian smirked and walked menacingly towards him. Justin took another two steps back and then, when he hit the door, spun around and trotted off down the hall as fast as he could; which, sadly wasn't all that fast since he was hampered by his growing baby bump. He climbed the stairs and then headed towards the others, thinking that if he got to his studio, he'd be safe. A sound plan that never reached fruition as Brian, who'd taken the stairs two at a time, grabbed him around the waist and pulled him into his chest, halting all movement.

Squealing, Justin struggled, halfheartedly trying to break free; but it was a short-lived thing as Brian just said _'fuck it,_ ' scooped him up into his arms a la Rage and JT and hauled him into his study, kicking the door shut behind him. But like hell was Justin going to give in graciously; he knew what was coming. So, once Brian had set Justin down on his feet, he immediately scurried away and put a small side table between them.

" _Mice?"_ Brian huffed, staring at Justin despairingly; and yeah, Justin admitted that had been weak; but it wasn't as if he had been trying to give a serious answer. "Seriously, _mice_? That's the best you can come up with?"

Justin shrugged; what could you do?

"Would you prefer that I lied to you and said that I ate them before we made the agreement?" Justin asked, smirking when Brian scowled at the thought; if there was one thing Brian hated above all things, it was being lied to. "Should I have told you that I've only eaten the ones you've ordered since the agreement? I could have, you know. There was a five-day gap between when I bought them and when we made our agreement."

"Uh huh," Brian scoffed renewing his predatory prowl. "It's a good thing you didn't, little boy; that would have definitely gotten you into even more trouble than you're in now and I would have instantly hauled you over my knee to exact my revenge."

Justin rolled his eyes and moved to put the loveseat between them when Brian got to close.

"It was a Twinkie emergency!" Justin said, resting his hands on his hips and glaring at a smirking Brian, carefully pointing his vulnerable backside away from his husband's grasping hands. "You can't punish me for that!"

"Oh, I can't, can I?' Brian said, snickering at his antics; and then he wagged a single finger tauntingly at Justin. "You know the consequences, Sunshine." Brian pointed at Justin and then pointed the empty space next to him, commanding in a voice that sent a pleasant shiver down Justin's spine. "Now come here."

Justin shook his head, a mutinous expression on his face; no way in hell. Not that it deterred his asshole husband any; Brian just flashed a wicked grin and skirted the couch,intent on getting to Justin.

"Brian!" Justin hissed, his cheeks flushing as he stepped away.

But unfortunately, he hadn't been watching where he was going and ended up backing himself into a corner. A flash of triumph flickered in Brian's eyes as he continued his advancement; Justin huffed, and took his eyes Brian for only a second to see what was blocking him. But it was enough as Brian used his distraction against him and quickly ate up the distance between them. Justin looked back and startled to find his husband directly in from of him a victorious grin on his face.

"You can't!" Justin hissed, leaning away, but it was no use; he was good and caught. "Gus is here! And you _know_ exactly where that leads."

"Oh yes, I do," Brian purred, grabbing Justin around his waist and yanking him against him.

Brian pulled him as close as they could get and still breathe; he nuzzled the tip of his nose along Justin's cheek and ground their dicks together, smirking when Justin gasped as his hormones once again took front and center. _Fuck_. He was so ready for the day when his libido didn't get excited at a stiff wind. It was like being a fucking teenager all over again. And he thought seventeen was bad.

"Which is why I'll be waiting until later to blister you ass for going back on your promise," Brian murmured as he trailed soft kisses over his jaw, nibbling and nipping until Justin was a puddle of goo.

"You say that as if it's supposed deter me from attempting it again," Justin snorted, groaning when their cocks slid against each other; fuck, how was he supposed to concentrate when he did things like that. He needed to regain control. "Besides, _this_ is _your_ fault."

And that seemed to it; score one for him.

"My fault!?" Brian screeched, (yes, screeched, it does happen occasionally; although Brian would deny it if asked); he pulled back and stared at Justin incredulously. "How the hell is _your_ lack of control _my_ fault?"

"well, I ate all of the pseudo-Twinkies you put in my can," Justin stated primly; snickering when Brian just stared at him as if he's grown another head. "And I don't know where the others are. Ergo, your fault."

"There were _twelve_ of them in that box!" Brian exclaimed, his face screwed up in disgust; and really, why is he surprised by this? He knew Justin's sweet tooth and should have expected it.

"And?" Justin demanded, his hands on hips; and huffed when Brian just gaped at him. "That was nine days ago!"

"You ate _twelve_ pseudo-Twinkies in _nine_ days!?" Brian shook his head as his eyes slid over Justin's body as if he were expecting to find evidence of his splurge; something that had Justin bristling.

"Actually it was _seven_ days ago," Justin correct, just a bit miffed; Brian scowled and shook his head in disgust. Justin shrugged, completely unrepentant. "Hence the Twinkie emergency. _All_ your fault."

"I'm not even going to dignify that with a response," Brian huffed; he walked over to the couch and flopped down, still looking a bit put out by Justin's confession. "You and your fucking sweet tooth. I swear, it is going to be the death of me. But, for your information; they're in Gus' room. I'll be sure to give them to you tonight and you can hide them to your heart's content. Fucking _twelve_ in _seven_ days."

Justin decided to take that as a minor victory; Lord knew he needed them some days. "It's not my fault; I couldn't help myself."

Brian just arched a brow and then groaned when Justin solemnly quipped:

"They're like Lay's; you can't eat just one!"


	56. February 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, again I have to apologize for real life getting in the way of our fun. While I did have this post ready to go yesterday, one of my cats got sick and did a fantastic Linda Blair in The Exorcist re-enactment and I ended up dealing with a sick cat all night. So, you get two again today.

**February 23**

"Is there a point to this?" Justin pointedly asked, not caring in the least if his words and tone came off as rude, even if went against his nature to do so.

His mother _had_ raised him to be a proper WASP after all; but there just came a point in time where the kid gloves needed to come off, and this was definitely one of those times. Lindsay had been waxing poetic all afternoon about the ' _spiritual and life-enhancing miracle that was birth,_ ' specifically, and in general, sharing way too much fucking information about her own experience with Gus.

What was it about carriers who felt the need to share their own birth experience in as excruciating detail as possible to other parents-to-be? It amazed Justin that there were as many people on the planet today given this propensity to over share. God knows that if he'd talked to Lindsay before deciding to have a kid, in all likelihood, it wouldn't have happened by the time she was done. Because, really, it sounded more like the climax of a horror movie than the ' _spiritual and life-enhancing miracle_ ' she claimed it to be.

Taking a sip of his water, Justin watched as Lindsay scrunched up her face in displeasure, giving off the appearance that she'd smelled something foul; a look that was becoming more and more familiar the deeper Justin got into his pregnancy. But really, had she not learned the last time she'd tried to steer him in a direction in line with her own way of thinking? Just because he hadn't seen the manipulation that the whole Art Forum article had been at the time - you know, back when he'd barely been an adult - didn't mean that he'd be so easily led around by the nose again.

Smiling blandly at their audience, who were deriving far too much enjoyment out of Lindsay's and his sparring, Justin waited for whatever new nugget of Zen-like truth she was about to spout on squeezing something the size of small watermelon out of something that soooo wasn't. Because he hadn't drank the Kool-Aid; and he wasn't interested in buying any bridges either; so he had no idea why she'd thought that he'd fall for any of her nonsense now.

"I'm just saying that giving birth is a natural and beautiful thing," Lindsay huffed, sitting up in her chair primly, acting as if she were royalty, ruling over her underlings. Justin barely quelled the urge to roll his eyes as she turned his mother, a simpering smile on her face. If she only knew what his mom really thought of her and her airs. "Surely, you'll agree with me, Jen."

Justin snickered as his mother turned to her with a bland smile, looking every inch the old money she was; only he could see just how annoyed she was to be dragged into this petty battle of wills. To the rest of the room, it looked as if butter wouldn't melt in her mouth. Well, Brian would have been able tell if he hadn't been too busy discussing the baby growth project with Gus and Jenny; he'd been around her enough to see it too.

"Oh, honey; don't get me involved with this," his mother said with a mild smile that was just a little too plastic around the edges; and then it turned genuine as she looked at him. "Besides Justin was stubborn from the very beginning and took nearly _eighteen hours_ to make an appearance; and then when he did burst onto the scene, he screamed the place down. I didn't find anything magical about that." Justin rolled his eyes, as he'd heard that story every time she was irritated with him. "I should have known _even then_ that you were going to be a drama queen."

Everyone in the vicinity laughed outside Lindsay, who was wearing a smile that was a little to plastic to be genuine – it was a little too wide and a little too tight; sort of like one would expect from stretching a rubber band. Seriously, what the hell was her problem? It had been funny, even if it had been at his expense. It's okay to laugh.

"Thanks a lot, Mom," Justin huffed; not that he didn't agree with her, but did she _have to_ announce it to the world?

"Anytime, sweetheart," his mother said, the faintest hint of a smirk on her lips. Justin rolled his eyes again as she leaned over and patted him on the cheek. "Just remember – what goes around, comes around."

"I'm sure Sunbeam will be an angel," Justin said in a haughty tone; and mock scowled when his mother snorted in utter disbelief.

"Yeah, I said that too," his mother said, an indulgent look on her face, her tone as dry as the Sahara. "And look at what I got stuck with."

Justin just rolled his eyes again, something he was doing a lot of that day, and jabbed Brian in the ribs with his elbow when he snickered. He yelped and glared at Justin, and then pinched him on the ass, frowning when Justin barely reacted. Justin just smirked; that's what happened when your husband had an obsession with your ass. You sort of grew immune to the constant abuse.

"I did it," Lindsay stated primly, drawing all eyes back to her; obviously she wasn't happy that she'd lost her audience. Everyone looked at her in bewilderment, having since moved on from the prior nauseating topic. So, of course, she clarified just in case everyone hadn't wanted the conversation to end about twenty minutes ago. You know, when she first brought it up. "Natural birth; it was a wonderful experience."

Justin noted the grimaces around him and decided to nip this in the bud before Emmett climbed into Drew's lap and begged him to make it stop before he decided that he never going to have kids. He turned to Lindsay and stared at her as if she'd grown another head. "That explains so much."

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?" Lindsay demanded waspishly, her mouth pursed so tightly that it looked as if she'd been sucking on a box of lemons.

"Look up the word masochism," Justin told her, smirking when she let out a little outraged gasp; he did so love to tweak her tail these days. It was just so damned easy and he needed to get his entertainment somehow since Brian was being all Captain Caveman on him. "That should tell you all you need to know."

Justin yelped when Brian elbowed him in the ribs this time; and then scowled and glared at him as he rubbed them - like he didn't get enough of that with Sunbeam.

"Wait; why the fuck would you do that?" Brian asked as Lindsay's words clicked; and this time it was him that was staring at Lindsay as if she'd lost her marbles.

Lindsay huffed and primly smoothed her skirt over her legs. "I just didn't want to be pumped full of drugs."

"Since when?" Brian snorted, likely recalling the time after Gus was born when breastfeeding certainly hadn't stopped her from toking up and drinking E-laced punch. Thankfully she'd had the presence of mind to switch to formula after that for a few days.

"I found it to be a very spiritual experience," Lindsay said a bit stiffly, her mouth compressing into a thin line. Time to shut this conversation down.

"Yeah, fuck that; when they ask me if I want drugs, I'm going to say knock me the fuck out," Justin said, leaning against Brian as his husband wrapped an arm around him and turned back to the conversation he'd been having with Gus and Jenny. "I'm actually not allergic to these drugs, and that would be the _only_ reason that I would forego them."

That brought on another round of laughter from everyone assembled. Well, except for Lindsay, who just scowled and shutdown. He should probably feel bad that he'd made light of the topic, but what did it take to get her to back the fuck off? He'd already told her once that he didn't need, nor did he want her advice. He had a very competent doctor that could easily handle any questions that he might have; and since Liz specialized in male pregnancy, he trusted her word over someone whose own advice was based solely on her personal experience as a _woman_ giving birth and what she'd read on the net.

Sensing that things would get out of hand if she didn't interfere, his mother turned to him with a smile and asked, "So, have you and Brian decided on a name yet?"

Justin groaned; he'd known this question would come up eventually, but he'd been hoping to put it off for a while longer. The truth was, Brian and he had been so wrapped up in everything going on in their lives; that they hadn't really done more than toss the occasional name around. He knew that the really needed to buckle down and find the time to focus on it; but every time they'd attempted it, they had been met with some new drama. Not to mention that the whole keeping the gender a secret was an issue.

Luckily, Brian decided to come to his aid.

"We've been jotting down names that we like, but haven't narrowed it down just yet," he said, running his hand along Justin's arm to show that he had this. "And we don't really want to share since it will give the gender away; but, nice try."

"You can't blame me for trying, dear," his mother laughed, not at all ashamed of her ploy; she'd been trying to trick them into telling her the gender since they'd found out. "I remember when we were trying to decide on Justin's name; you were lucky that I won that battle. Your dad was picking the most pretentious names possible, like Preston and Tiberius; luckily, I convinced him that it was a tradition in my family to name the first male child after his grandfathers. He swallowed that down hook, line and sinker."

"Well, nothing was more important to dad than appearances," Justin said wryly, crinkling his nose at the idea of being named Preston. God, his father had no taste at all. "Although, it looks like the both of us tend to favor gender neutral names."

"Well then, there shouldn't be a reason that you can't tell us then, is there?" Emmett teased; Justin crinkled his nose and stuck his tongue out at him.

"Still not telling," Justin said, covering his mouth on a yawn. Fuck, he'd been getting tired much easier and faster these days. He hated to see what it was going to be like when he started hitting the last couple of months of his pregnancy.

Leaning back into Brian, Justin let himself drift, mostly ignoring the conversation around him as the family offered up names for consideration. Most of it was all in good fun, and mostly to poke at Brian, who immediately shot them all down. But when Emmett suggested Tallulah James, a name he'd always loved as it reminded him of his Aunt Lula, Justin knew that it was time to leave before Brian killed the other man.

Plus, it was getting close to six and Justin knew that Michael, Ben and Hunter would be arriving soon for dinner; and while Justin wouldn't mind seeing Hunter, he wasn't so keen on the other two. Especially as he was still undecided on this dinner with Ben. He had to admit, a part of him was curious as to what this news Ben had for him was; but he just didn't trust him not to say something to Michael, and give Michael the opportunity to show up and cause problems.

As it was, Brian and Justin had come over to Deb's for lunch instead of dinner, and then spent the rest of the afternoon with everyone as they showed up. Leaning up, Justin pressed a kiss into the hollow of Brian's ear and whispered, "We should get going; it's getting close to six and you know what that means."

"Yeah," Brian murmured back, tuning to drop a soft kiss on Justin's mouth. "Are we going to Mother Taylor's for dinner tonight or is it just us?"

"She and Tucker have plans," Justin said, sitting up and stretching out his legs in preparation of getting up; another thing that had been getting increasingly more difficult the bigger his stomach grew. "So, it's just us. Take out and home?"

"Sounds fabulous," Brian said in a low voice, looking around to make sure that no one was paying them any mind. "I like the idea of having you all to myself. And I do hope that you didn't forget about our little conversation from yesterday. I know I didn't."

"Brian…" Justin protested, although it was a weak one at best; in truth, he was already getting hard just thinking about all the dirty things Brian had vowed to do to him in punishment for his supposed transgressions.

"Make our excuses, Sunshine," Brian demanded quietly; and then he stood, and said for everyone to hear. "We have things to do."

Justin clambered up with Brian's assistance and did just that, exchanging hugs and kisses and making plans with Emmett to do lunch this coming week. And then they headed out, the both of them hissing when they opened the door and realized that they hadn't left soon enough. Rolling his lips between his teeth, Justin looked up at Brian, who just shrugged and kept walking as if he hadn't seen Michael, Ben and Hunter walking up the sidewalk.

Shrugging, Justin followed in his wake, nodding to Hunter, who Justin had taken a surprising liking to once they got beyond his whole wanting Brian bit, as they passed. He didn't bother to acknowledge the other two; not that it stopped Michael from opening his fat mouth and making an absolute idiot of himself. Again.

"Where are you guys going?" Michael demanded as he spun around to watch them walk down the sidewalk towards their car.

"Leaving," Justin said, keeping it short and sweet when it became obvious that Brian wasn't going to answer; Brian looked at him and shook his head, silently telling him not to goad the dumb animals by poking at them. But fuck it; he asked.

"But we just got here," Michael spluttered, as if unable to believe that Brian would simply walk away from him without a single word spoken; never mind the fact that Brian hadn't spoken to or acknowledged him in any way over the past two weeks.

"Exactly," Justin said again, ignoring Brian's sigh; he was _so_ going to pay for this when they got home, but at the moment, he enjoyed winding Mikey up

"Listen here you little…" Michael began, walking towards them, but he didn't get far before Brian was turning around and pulling Justin behind him in a great Rage impression.

"Michael." Brian hissed sharply, flicking a look that could kill his direction; and that was all Brian had to say to have Michael huffing and stomping off as if someone had pissed all over his Captain Astro comics.

Sighing, Brian turned around and just looked at Justin for a long moment, silently chastising him for not ignoring the puffed up, annoying, little man; one that was followed by the look that told him he was in for it when he got home. What a shame. Justin just grinned unrepentantly, walked over to the car and climbed in. Brian shook his head, rounded the SUV and slid into the driver's side.

Starting the SUV, Brian looked to make certain no one was coming and then pulled out onto the road without saying a word, immediately heading for their favorite Chinese restaurant because he just knew Justin that well. He kept flicking little glances over at Justin, who hummed along with the song on the radio until finally Justin felt the need to break the silence between them.

"You know, you enjoy those verbal sparring sessions between me and Lindsay way too much," Justin observed, sending his husband a knowing look. Brian snickered.

"They should make WASP offs into a sport," Brian said, a smirk firmly planted on his lips as he turned into the parking lot of the restaurant. "We'd make a killing."

"They have," Justin said dryly. "It's called Dinner at the Country Club; remind me to take you there some time. I hear that Craig is still reeling from the last verbal beat down that Mom gave him. We could _really_ make his day and make him deal with his richer, much more successful, faggot son and his equally impressive husband."

"As fun as that sounds," Brian drawled, his tone implying anything but. "I have better things to do; namely you, naked, and in our bed. Now hurry up and get out of the car, so that we can get food and then get to it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I need to say this – while Justin's opinion on natural childbirth does reflect mine, (after all, why go through the pain if there are tried and true pain management options), his quip that the women who choose to do this are masochists does not. I have nothing, but great respect and admiration for a woman who decides to go the natural route. I also know, that often, those same women are subjected to rude opinions for doing so. Justin's reaction to Lindsay's remark does mirror what most people think when they hear that someone is taking that route, which was why I did it. It's amazing how women shame other women for doing this. I mean, really, if you don't have the balls to do it yourself, don't mock others that do.


	57. February 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An extra long one for you today to make up for yesterday's lack.

**February 24**

Emmett sighed and hurried after his favorite blond; although, he really wasn't his favorite blond at the moment since he was likely to get Emmett killed due to his actions. But despite how hard he'd tried to convince Justin that this wasn't a wise idea, the blond just stared him down and told him that if he didn't come with him, he'd find someone that would. And just like that, Emmett had caved like a house of cards under a stiff wind.

What was it about the Taylor-Kinneys that had Emmett caving to their will with a mere bat of their eyes in Justin's case, or an arched eyebrow in the case of his less jolly other half? They were going to drive him mad with all of their subterfuge and maneuvering of each other. Although, he supposed it was sweet in a weird way; but he knew he should've just turned down Justin's offer for lunch today.

He slid into the passenger side of Justin's SUV, because it was _definitely_ Justin's SUV, and _not_ Brian's, as Big Bad had told everyone from here and sundry, and closed the door. He cast an exasperated glance over at Justin, just to let him know what he thought of this venture; but Justin expertly ignored it, and instead, started the car and pulled out onto the drive.

Well, he supposed that Baby would've grown immune to that look, considering how many times he'd been on the receiving end of, and withstood, the patented Brian Kinney death glare. He supposed his puny look of disappointment had nothing on that.

"Brian is so going to kill me for this," Emmett muttered as Justin headed towards the interstate that would take them into to town and directly to Carnegie Mellon. And he _had_ been looking forward to a quiet day of puttering around at home.

"Brian isn't going to do a thing because he's not going to find out," Justin snorted, easing onto the highway and then punching the gas to speed up. Emmett grabbed the pocket in the door in preparation for another adventure in what Justin called driving. Sometimes, he wondered how the boy managed to get his license.

But then, he just chalked it up to the one truth in life – Justin learned all the rules, then acted like an angel until he got what he wanted and then promptly forgot them.

"You say that now," Emmett sighed, giving in as gracelessly as possible, just knowing that there would be hell to be paid since he couldn't talk his Baby out of this misadventure. It would be like trying to tell Michael that Brian would never see his as husband material – completely useless. "But Big Bad always finds out."

"Who's going to tell him?" Justin huffed, looking away from the road long enough to cast a derisive expression his way. "Me? Not likely." Justin changed lanes with the barest look, nearly cutting someone off. Really, New York had been bad for that boy's driving skills. "You?" And then he paused to ponder that and shrugged. "Well..."

"He just has this way of _knowing_ things as soon as he looks at me," Emmett defended, his knuckles blanching as Justin continued to lane hop. He was so glad it was the middle of the day and not rush hour. "It's like he has a built-in bullshit detector. He does _the look_ – you know what look I'm talking about – and the next thing I know, I'm confessing all my sins and telling him about the time that I briefly had a career as a male escort…."

"You were a male escort?" Justin asked, flicking an incredulous glance his way as they careened down the interstate; Brian really needed to enroll this boy into remedial driving lessons. "I never knew that."

"It was very short-lived," Emmett shrugged, waving it off with his free hand, because like hell was he going to let go of his handhold. "Didn't even last out the day. They told me that I would be expected to escort women as part of the job, and then, _wink, wink, nudge, nudge_ , whatever happened on our downtime was our business if I wanted to make a little extra cash. I shuddered at the mere thought of some society matron pawing me like I was her new favorite toy and got the fuck out of there."

"That must have been horrifying," Justin laughed, flicking his turn signal on after the fact; someone really should have told him that you need to indicate that you're changing lanes _before_ you did it.

But then again, that went back to those rules that Justin ignored when it benefited him; something that Emmett should have learned when a cute, little, bubble-butted blond came along and demolished all of Big Bad's rules with nothing more than a Sunshine smile.

"You have no idea, sweetie," Emmett said, shuddering at the thought of being anywhere near girl bits. Really, once had been enough to make him realize the horrifying fate he'd escaped that day. "I saw a small sampling of the clientele as I was leaving and let's just say; if that's what you can expect, I wasn't all that impressed."

"Poor Em…" Justin laughed, and then scowled as someone got in front of him and had the nerve to go the speed limit. "Terrorized by all those female bits; although, I don't blame you. I'm not sure I could do it either. Having sex with Daphne was bad enough; especially when _she_ decided I was her new favorite toy and dumped her boyfriend in some misguided belief that we were now boyfriend and girlfriend. Never mind the fact that I was queerer than a three-dollar bill and was routinely getting fucked by Brian at that time."

"You always were the exception to all his rules," Emmett said; tittering a bit at the double meaning that comment. "Not that I blamed him once he got a look at that cute, little, bubble-butt. If I'd have thought that you'd have even spared me a glance, I so would have tapped that. But alas, they all want God Kinney."

"Yes, they all wanted him," Justin smirked, changing lanes again to go around the person in front of him; thankfully he didn't flip the other person off as he passed, but he did give them a _what-the-fuck_ look. "And well, _still_ want him to be truthful about it, but _I'm_ the one that got him. Eat your heart out Pittsburgh."

"At least when he finally fixated, it was with someone I could stand," Emmett said, bracing himself as they careened onto the off ramp, speeding down it as if they were still on the interstate until they were just at the end and Justin finally applied the brakes. "Some of his tricks, while admittedly gorgeous, were as dense as a ten-foot concrete slab."

"Dense as a brick didn't work for you?" Justin snickered, looking briefly to make sure there weren't any cars coming before he went on his merry way, abusing traffic rules right and left as if they were mere advisories and not concrete laws.

"Oh, honey," Emmett shook his head, still amazed that a trip that should have taken about an hour, took nearly half that. "They were well beyond that. Definitely the ' _just sit there and look pretty_ ' types. It's no wonder they couldn't hold his interest."

Justin pulled into the university area, navigating the roads as if he knew where he was going; which he likely did. Justin never did anything half-assed. And this had been no spur of the moment idea. He'd planned this from the very start, including inviting Emmett along because he'd known that Emmett would cave into his desires.

"Fuck," Emmett muttered again, refocusing on the reason for this visit now that he was no longer concerned with his immanent death at the hands of his very good, but slightly reckless friend. No, his death will likely be a long, drawn out thing at the hands of his very irate husband. He just couldn't win. "Brian is so going to kill me."

"You're always free to leave," Justin said as he swung into the parking lot, and because life always favored him, found a parking spot immediately. "The only reason I asked you to come with me is that Brian has been acting like a caveman lately; and I promised him that I would never be alone until they caught the person who broke into the loft and gallery. If you feel you can't handle this that bus over there will take you back. In fact, it might be better for you in the end as you have looser lips than…"

"Now that's just rude, Baby," Emmett said, cutting him off and breathing a sigh of relief when the car stopped moving; he didn't care how he did it, but he was definitely driving them home. "But I'm going to overlook it because I love you and I know you're stressed."

Justin turned off the SUV and looked over at Emmett, arching his brow in a perfect imitation of Brian. And that was just so unfair; he couldn't use that trick too! The puppy dog eyes were bad enough; he didn't need to be subjected to the Kinney arch as well.

"And Brian really would kill me if I left you here by yourself," Emmett continued, ignoring the way the little brat snickered at him. "And sweetie, I am far too young and pretty to die and deprive the world of all the fabulousness that is me; even if it means they can only look and long from afar these days."

"And they say Brian is the egotistical one," Justin teased, unlatching his seat belt and opening the car door. "How is it that we've never seen this coming?'

"My flame burns far too hot and bright," Emmett preened as he opened his own door, sending a small smirk over at the blond; who just rolled his eyes. "It blinds you to all of my pesky flaws."

"Okay, Miss Scarlett," Justin huffed, climbing out of the car. "Get your ass out then if you're coming with me."

And then he slammed and locked the doors, not giving Emmett much of a choice, _but_ to follow him on his hair-brained task. While he could understand the reasoning behind the trip, Emmett really didn't like that Justin was keeping it from Brian.

"I just don't see why you didn't just go to dinner with them and find out what they wanted with Brian at your side," Emmett complained, getting out of the car and following Justin.

"Because I don't trust Ben not to open his mouth and let out the fact that he was having dinner with us to Michael, _and_ where it was being held," Justin stated implacably, all humor draining from his face as his lips compressed into a thin line. "And you know that little prick would just love to come down and make a scene, whining to Brian about not coming to see him and saying that he was acting unreasonably and all that bullshit. And right now, Brian is already enough on edge; he might actually kill him this time and then where the hell would I be when my baby daddy is in prison?"

"Well, when you put it like that…" Emmett reluctantly said, following his friend through the corridors; because, of course, he knew _exactly_ where Ben's office was located. He had to wonder if it was because he'd been there before or he'd managed to wring that information out someone. Shaking his head, Emmett muttered under his breath. "Drama princess."

"I'm just protecting my free access to the best sex known to man," Justin said, trying to inject some levity into the coming confrontation. "No one could blame me for that."

"Yes, I'm sure that's the main reason why," Emmett snickered as Justin stuck his tongue out at him and turned a corner.

"Plus, if we do it this way, he has no time to plan what he's going to say, nor can he get word out if it was indeed an ambush," Justin said, restating his reasoning behind the trip as he stopped near a cracked door. "Here we are; now, you just sit there and look pretty, while I find out what the fuck he wants."

Emmett squawked at that and swatted a sniggering Justin on the arm. "See I ever help you again."

"You love me and you know it," Justin said as he knocked on the door; and truth was, the brat was right. Justin had become the brother he'd always wanted, easily replacing the bigoted assholes that shared his blood.

That was likely why he was doomed to forever chasing after Justin, trying to make sure he didn't get into too much trouble. And if he did, that Emmett was right there to help bail him out of whatever misadventure he'd been dragged into.

"Come in," Ben called out; Justin pushed the door open and stepped into the room with Emmett at his heels. Ben held up a single finger as he continued to write something on the paper in front of him. And when he finished, he looked up, his eyes widening in surprise to see them there. "Justin, Emmett; this is a surprise."

"Ben," Justin nodded politely, ever the little WASP even when he was gearing up to rip someone a new one. "How have you been?"

Emmett waved, but didn't say anything as this was all Justin's show; he was just the support. And he wanted the dynamics of this meeting to be clear from the get go. Ben set down his pen and sat up as if immediately sensing that this wasn't a social call.

"Fine," Ben nodded; he sat back with his hands clasped in his lap. "And yourself?"

"I've been well," Justin said lightly, his hand unconsciously coming up to rest on his baby bump as he said the rest. "Although, Sunbeam seems to think that my bladder is a trampoline, so that's always fun."

"I can imagine," Ben smirked, and then gestured to the chairs in front of his desk. "Please, have a seat. How can I help you? I assume that you came here for a reason."

"I did," Justin said as he sat down, his own hands clasped in his lap; and really, it was like they were trying to out polite each other, much like Justin and Lindsay tried to out WASP each other. A game Justin always won. "I wanted to find out _what_ this news is that you thought I'd like to know; and _why_ you'd think that I'd care one way or the other."

"Ah," Ben said, and then sighed when he noticed the look on Justin's face; the one that told him that he was in no mood for games. "The dinner."

"Yes, that," Justin said, jumping right into the topic at hand; and Emmett had to respect the fact that he didn't try to draw it out, but simply cut through the bullshit and got right to the heart of the matter. "Call me crazy, but I'm not too trusting of either you or Michael right now. Michael is obvious; it goes without saying why I don't trust him. But you, it's because of your continued interference and your absolute inability to allow Michael to face the consequences of his actions."

"I see," Ben said, drawing the words out, but he kept quiet as if he'd sensed that Justin had more to say on the matter and he didn't want to interrupt him. Too bad his husband couldn't learn that trait; it would save him a well of hurt and disappointment.

"It tells me a few things about your character that I can't condone right now," Justin stated bluntly, not really caring if Ben liked his assessment or not. And it _did_ seem to cut to the quick given the way Ben swallowed heavily at the words.

"Not when it's not just my own health that I'm looking out for," Justin continued with a small frown on his face; Ben had the grace to flush. "But the most important of these is that, no matter what sob story you sell to me and Brian, you will always put Michael first." Justin paused to watch Ben's reaction to that, and smirked when he found the confirmation he needed. "And that's fine; he's your husband and it's natural that you would want to protect and support him."

Justin paused again; but this time it was for impact judging by his next words. Emmett was surprised, and supremely proud of his brother in everything but blood's calm demeanor throughout that entire spiel.

"But this wasn't a little argument between friends, Ben," Justin said, the first sparks of anger lighting his eyes until they shimmered like blue flame. "He sought me out, verbally attacked me, broadcasted sensitive information to the public at large and ended up being the cause of an anxiety attack that had me hospitalized overnight because my blood pressure worried the doctors enough to admit me."

Ben remained silent, but he did look uncomfortable and squirmed in his seat with each transgression Justin listed. So, Emmett supposed that earned him some points; but he was still of the _wait and see where this goes_ mind. Ben had been just as bad as Michael in Emmett's opinion, but it was due to his inaction rather than his actual actions.

"Which is a serious problem as I, likely, can't take drugs to stabilize it since I'm allergic to a lot of the meds," Justin said, his voice quivering for a moment; likely due to remembering what the doctors told him that day. "Having high blood pressure could mean that Sunbeam isn't getting the blood flow needed and could be underweight or even be born early; and those are the minor side affects. So, I need to know that this isn't going to be another ambush, because like hell am I going to go through that again."

Ben opened and closed his mouth several times, trying to find the words to reassure Justin, but he seemed to be at a loss for words. But Justin didn't say anything; he just sat there, patiently waiting for the other man to answer. Which was a hell of a lot better than Emmett, who wanted to choke the answers out of him.

"I understand," Ben finally said; and then he sighed and ran a hand over his face. "And I don't blame you for not trusting Michael; or me for that matter. I know that you have more important things to worry about; and that's why I wanted to have dinner – to impart some news that would hopefully bring you a little peace of mind. I really _did_ just want to apologize to you and Brian and give you that news. But I can see where my prior actions would make you hesitant to believe me."

Justin continued to stare at him skeptically, but nodded in acknowledgement anyways.

"Yeah, sorry," Justin said, not sounding sorry about it at all. "I just don't see dinner in the cards at this juncture; while you may be genuine in your assertions, I don't trust Michael as far as I could throw him. I just have a bad feeling about this, and I am going to trust my gut as it's rarely led me wrong."

"Fair enough," Ben nodded, sitting up in his chair again; he set his clasped hands in front of him and leaned against the desk. "I can tell you now, and you can pass the information onto Brian. No dinner necessary; although, Hunter will be disappointed as he was looking forward to catching up with you."

"Tell him that he's free to come to the house anytime," Justin conceded; And Emmett still found it funny that an unlikely friendship blossomed between the two once Hunter had stopped chasing Brian. "Well, within reason. I'd love to catch up with him as well."

"I'll let him know," Ben said with a small smile. "The reason I asked to see you was, first of all, to apologize for my actions after the restaurant incident. I could say that I was acting under false pretenses, which was the case for the first day, but I won't insult your intelligence that way. It's true that I hadn't heard about the hospitalization until the next day when Deb came to ask Michael if he knew what was going on. He'd merely said that you'd had a disagreement and…"

Justin snorted at that; talk about the understatement of the year. But then again, that was so Michael, and Emmett couldn't help but remember several like moments where Michael painted either himself or the situation in a better light than it had originally been cast. And he was sickened by the fact that he hadn't noticed it for so long.

"Yeah, he downplayed it quite a bit," Ben acknowledged, his smile turning into a frown. "He simply said that you'd had a disagreement and that he didn't want to see anybody; I couldn't see any harm in running interference until everyone cooled down, so when Em and Ted came calling, I sent them away."

"And after?" Justin prompted, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Well, as you said, he is my husband," Ben said, wincing as even he'd recognized the lameness of the argument. "And I also didn't want Brian to end up regretting his actions if he lost control. I know what that's like."

"Okay, we'll go with that for now," Justin said, still looking skeptical, but willing to set it aside for the time being as he, apparently, had bigger fish to fry. "What is this news that you think will bring me _'peace of mind.'_ "

"Michael and I will be moving," Ben stated bluntly to the both of them.

Emmett's mouth gaped as he stared at the other man, as there hadn't been a hint of this on the Avenue, and it was nearly impossible to keep that kind of gossip under wraps. Emmett turned to Justin, whose eyes were bugged out at the announcement; and then shook his head when Justin looked over and arched a brow. No, he hadn't heard a thing about it.

"It's just temporary," Ben hedged, holding up a hand to halt their questions. "I was offered a chance to do a summer seminar on the hidden gay subtext in various forms literature and media; and I've accepted it as of last week."

"Okay," Justin said slowly, obviously wondering how that added up to Ben _and_ Michael moving; which was the question Emmett was wondering himself.

"But, I still have to be here until May 6, and the seminar begins May 19," Ben continued, running his hands through his hair. "That doesn't give me much time to find a place to rent and settle into. So, after a long discussion about everything, and explaining to Michael that it might be a good idea if he got away to let things cool off a bit, he's going to head out there early and set up house for us."

Justin's eyebrows rose at that announcement, but he remained skeptical. And Emmett didn't really blame him after everything that Michael had put him through lately. This seemed to be more of the same Novotny lip service, where he promised to do something and then never delivered. Emmett had a hard time believing it himself.

"And I know you have no reason to trust that he'll stay away," Ben said, echoing Emmett's thoughts. "But I'm hoping that for once he'll listen to reason and stay put. He seems keen on it; although, it _is_ more from the stand point of thinking that Brian will miss him and welcome him with open arms when he returns."

"Of course, he does," Justin sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. He already seemed to be developing a headache at that thought. "When is he leaving?"

"By the end of March at the latest," Ben said as he flipped through a few papers on his desk. "There are several things he needs to wrap up and he's training Hunter to manage the shop while he's gone. That should give him a little over a month to find a place and settle in. We'll be gone through mid-August."

"Well," Justin said, obviously tired of the entire thing and looking to end the conversation now that he'd gotten what he wanted. "First of all, congratulations on the seminar; I assume that it isn't through the university and that's why you have to find your own lodging?"

"No it's not," Ben shook his head, a rueful grin on his face. "I'm doing a favor for a friend; but unfortunately, while it pays well and is about a subject I'm passionate about, it doesn't come with lodging. Hence, why it pays so well."

"Well," Justin said again, falling back into the perfectly polite WASP that Jen raised him to be. "Thank you for telling me; congrats again and good luck. But I think I'll reserve judgment until I see how things play out." Justin paused as he stood, preparing for their departure. "I want to believe you; but I _know_ Michael and the way that he acts. I have a lot of doubts that he'll actually do as he's promising you. But, I also can't deny that it would be a relief if he does."

"I understand," Ben said as he stood as well. "All I can say is, he said that he would stay away from you and Brian until he leaves for Seattle and that he's looking forward to the time away. I guess we'll all have to wait and see if he follows through. And again, I'm sorry for…"

"Really, Ben," Justin cut him off, holding up a hand to fend off any further apologies on his part. "While I'm not happy with your actions, I can understand them, as I would do the same with Brian; it's not _you_ that owes me the apology. But I won't allow Michael anywhere near me to do so. He's finally crossed a line with me; and I don't ever foresee a time where we'll reconcile."

"I understand," Ben nodded and held out his hand to Justin. "It was good to see you, Justin. And I hope in time that I can regain your trust; but I'll also understand if that never happens."

"You too, Ben," Justin said, politely shaking the other man's hand. "Be sure to send your brat kid around; I've missed him."

And then they both silently walked out the door, still utterly stunned by the news and wondering what was going to happen next. And all Emmett could really think as they walked away was – well, this was game changer.


	58. February 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I have a short one for you today, as it is once again from our stalker's POV; and wearing his skin, even for the short amount of time it takes me to write these POV's, makes my skin crawl. Especially this one. So...
> 
>  **WARNING:** This may be disturbing; it took me forever to write as I had to keep stopping because my skin crawled due to some of his thoughts. But, if you can't get through _that_ part, (you'll know it when you see it), please do read the end as it gives you a little more information about him.

**February 25**

He awoke to his head throbbing in time with his heartbeat, his mouth dry and tasting as if he'd been sucking on dirty socks all night. He cracked his eyes open a slit and then hissed as pain radiated across his gummy eyes, and, in turn, stabbed through his head like a razor-sharp knife. Screwing his eyes shut, he breathed slowly, starting shallowly and then working his way up to deeper, longer breaths as he tried to quell the nausea washing over him in wave after wave.

It was going to be one of those days.

Lying motionless, he took several deep, slow breaths until the nausea dissipated, and then he carefully pried his eyes open once more. He blinked slowly, his brow pinching with confusion as he stared at his unfamiliar surroundings, wondering where the fuck he'd had landed himself this time. Turning his face into the generic, white pillowcase, he groaned, his dick instantly hardening as a familiar scent filled his nose.

_Sandalwood. Vanilla. Citrus. Justin._

Sliding his hand under the bland blue blanket and hideous cheap motel coverlet, he cupped his dick and squeezed, his breath hitching as it filled and lengthened. God, the scent alone, mixed with the heady aroma of musk from his arousal, was nearly enough to make him come. He circled his thumb over the head of his dick, gathering up drops of pre-cum, and used it to slick the shaft for a leisurely morning toss off while enveloped in the scent of his beloved.

Fuck, he'd always smelled good; it was one of the things that had always drawn him to the blond like a moth to a flame. That, and his pale, unblemished skin, that seemed to glow from some inner fire that he'd always wanted to touch and tame and bathe in. And those pretty, pink, pouting lips that just seemed made for sucking cock; in fact, he was imagining them wrapped around his dick right now, sucking him down to the root, his hot mouth and tongue running up and down it as he bobbed his head in his lap.

Moaning, he planted his feet into the bed, and rocked his hips, fucking up into his hand, all the while imagining that it was that gorgeous ass that had attracted him from day one. So good. And he was just getting into it when he felt something stirring in the bed next to him; gasping he halted his actions and stared into blue eyes; ones that were not quite the right shade, but were gorgeous nonetheless.

They blinked at him as the man sleepily pieced together his surroundings and then smiled – beautiful and bright, but not quite right. Buttery blond hair fell around his face – again, so very close, but not quite right – as the twink propped himself up on one elbow and looked at him with a sly smirk.

And then it all came flooding back to him – the pressing need to get out of his apartment before the walls closed in on him, stumbling onto some little hole-in-the-wall bar, and meeting the hustler that, if he squinted just right, looked enough like his beloved that he could pretend to have him for a few hours.

He'd picked him up in the bar, paid for the night before walking to where he'd left his car; he drove them to the nearest cheap motel because he wouldn't sully the place he planned to bring his beloved with a cheap imitation; and ended up fucking him all night, only stopping when pink was starting to tint the sky.

No wonder he had a headache.

"Need a hand with that?" the twink asked with a cheeky smile, running his hand over his thigh to cup his balls, squeezing them gently, but rhythmically.

He looked up into a face that wasn't quite right – the features were not nearly as refined as his beloved's – and now, in the harsh light of day, the allure had faded and the twink was just a pale replication of the true perfection that was his love. Still he was beautiful, and his dick was hard as a rock and getting impossibly harder due to the blond's ministrations, and if he closed his eyes just right…

"Yeah," he whispered, his voice rough with lust as the twink grinned and grabbed the bottle of lube.

Sliding his eyes three-quarters of the way closed, he watched as the twink quickly opened himself up; something that didn't take long since it'd only been about four hours since they'd last fucked. And then the blond rolled a condom onto to his dick and slicked him up before slowly easing down onto it, his hot, tight ass enveloping him, punching a loud gasp of air out of his lungs.

His hands wrapped around the twink's hips as he groaned and sagged, the blond's head resting against his shoulder as he adjusted. He wrapped his arms around the blond and pulled him close, burying his face into the fine hairs by his ear and breathed deeply. _Sandalwood. Vanilla. Citrus. Musk. Justin._ It was _intoxicating_.

Pressing a small kiss to the tip of the blond's ear, he groaned and let go as the twink's muscles contracted around his dick. The blond sat up, planted his hands onto his chest and rose up until he'd almost lifted off his dick completely and then he plunged back down, eliciting a sharp hiss from the both of them.

"Yeah, that's it, baby," he murmured, digging his fingers into soft flesh, his eyes tightly shut and the vision of his beloved hovering over him as the blond rocked and writhed and circled his hips trying to find that right angle, his lips parted and head thrown back. "Ride me."

And then he lost all thought to the heat building between the two of them as the blond rode him for all he was worth, quickly bringing them to completion.

Panting, he flopped back on the bed, insensate, and a part of him, the part that craved the physical pleasure of another body, sated for the time being. But he still couldn't help feeling a bit let down and hollow as, while the twink was a close replication, he wasn't what he wanted. He was just a body to slake the lust that pounded through him every time he saw his beloved walking in the distance.

He watched, conflicted as the twink rolled off him, and clambered off the bed to grab his clothing. His head was throbbing again, and he knew that he had to get home soon to take his meds if he didn't want to be incapacitated for the rest of the day. He rolled out of bed, peeled off the condom, tied it off and tossed it in the trash as he headed to the bathroom for a quick wash before he called a cab; he didn't think he could drive.

He walked up the mirror and studied his face, still having trouble recognizing himself all these years later. The car accident that he'd been in eight years ago had made certain of that. Although he couldn't remember it, and couldn't remember much of a couple of years before _that_ due to selective amnesia, he'd been told he'd crashed headlong into a pole while drinking drunk. Something that had left him scarred for life.

Due to a malfunction, the air bag hadn't deployed, and as he hadn't been wearing his seat belt, he'd flown into that dashboard; and with the windshield shattering on impact, his face had been mangled. It had been cut and smashed beyond recognition and had taken months of pain, and several surgeries, to rebuild it until it even somewhat resembled his face before the accident.

And it still startled him to see this stranger staring back at him to this day.

That hadn't been the only consequence; outside of the loss of years of his memories, which he'd never gotten back, he was now susceptible to debilitating headaches that often had him blacking out when they came on. Even the meds didn't help at times and those lost hours scared him at times as he woke up in places he didn't remember; hence his worry this morning.

And then there had been other issues; but he didn't want to think of _that_.

Scratching his chest, he looked at the shower, contemplating whether or not to take one with the the twink's voice broke though his thoughts.

"I hate when you call me Justin," the twink muttered as he pulled on his shoes.

"What?" he asked, a fluttering feeling of panic washing over him as he looked at the twink that looked so much like his beloved, but was not him. Had he said something that he hadn't? He didn't think he was missing any hours, bt if he had said something, then he needed to nip this in the bud before it could get out.

"Justin," the twink said, as he walked over to him, his gait a little hitched after the active night they'd had. "You kept calling me by _his_ name last night; you know, your ex?"

"Yeah; something like that," he muttered, relief coursing through him; like he needed the blond to get to nosy. He didn't need anyone up in his business. He held his breath as the twink leaned in for one last kiss; which he decided to indulge. And then he closed his eyes and savored it as _that_ scent washed over him again.

_Sandalwood. Vanilla. Citrus. Musk. Justin._

And he was lost to it again, until finally the twink pulled away with a grin and turned on his heel.

"By the way," the twink said, heading for the door. "I left the toiletries that you brought with you and wanted me to use on the bed; I figured that you'd want them back."

"Yeah, thanks," He said, turning away from the twink, unable to watch him walk away and shatter the illusion. He wanted to hold onto it for just a few more seconds.

"I left my card in there in case you want to do this again," the twink said as he opened the door. He nodded, unable to answer; and then the door closed gently behind him, leaving him in silence.

"Sound good," he whispered to the room, his dick already growing hard at the thought of having his beloved again. Shrugging the thought of a shower off, as he wanted _his_ scent clinging to him for as long as possible, he quickly dressed and called a cab; and then, leaving the key on the bedside table as he didn't want anyone to see him there, he stepped out the door and walked down to the cafe to wait. "I can't wait."


	59. February 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of a late update today as I was working on my other story. Which, thankfully, I finished the next chapter and it's now just waiting for my beta to be available for an edit. Yay! :) And now, onto the next installment of Britin...

**February 26 – 25 weeks**

Brian stood in the doorway to 'Justin's office,' watching his husband steadily work his way through the stack of files in front of him; he was bent over, his face a mask of concentration, with a pad of paper next to it for easy access as he jotted down notes on the potential interviewees that he was evaluating. Sadly, Brian and Justin were losing one of their best graphic artists because she and her husband were moving out of state to be closer to her sick mother, and Brian just couldn't take working with that idiot contractor again.

Justin sighed, and rubbed the back of his neck as he closed the file he'd been looking through without making one notation and tossed it onto a growing stack of rejections. Brian smirked while looking at the two stacks at the end of the desk, one considerably larger than the other. He could already tell which was which by the annoyed way that Justin threw the file onto the larger pile.

Everyone at Kinnetik thought that Brian was a picky bastard when it came to his standards for employment; what they didn't realize was that Justin Taylor-Kinney was twice the picky bastard that Brian was. The problem was, they took one look at his clean-cut, blond-haired, blue-eyed looks and thought he was a push over. That is, until Justin ripped them a new one and they left his office either completely shell-shocked or in tears, their belief crushed under the weight of Justin's very vocal displeasure.

Leaning against the doorway, he continued to watch his husband with a small smile on his face; while watching Justin work was a familiar sight to Brian, and a welcome respite to his busy day, that wasn't what caught his notice as he came into the office. No, the reason he couldn't stop staring was because [Justin was wearing his glasses](https://imgur.com/82rsB4P) for once, something that he didn't often do.

Vain bastard that he is, Justin usually refused to even step foot out of the house with his glasses on, preferring to wear his contacts only. It was funny, but for the longest time, Brian himself didn't even know that Justin had to wear glasses. Even when he'd first come to live with Brian, Justin would wait to change them out when he went to school or after Brian would leave for the day if he was staying home.

In fact, it was only when Brian had unexpectedly come home one morning, as he'd forgotten a file that he needed for work, and found Justin standing in the bathroom with a pair of glasses on, that Brian even realized it. And what a funny morning that had been as Justin blushed and stammered his way through an explanation, before he quickly put his contacts in and left for the day.

The problem was, Justin had forgotten to place an order for a new batch of contacts this time, and he finally had to give up the ghost on his last pair and resign himself to glasses for the next two or three days. And his husband wasn't exactly happy about having to wear them; but it was either that or having to deal with a headache due to eyestrain, and he'd picked the lesser of the evils.

Brian honestly couldn't see what the big deal was; his husband was absolutely fucking sexy in his glasses and he wished that Justin would wear them much more often.

Pushing off the door jam, he walked over until he was standing behind Justin; he pressed a kiss onto his neck and whispered in his ear, "Have I ever told you how fucking drop-dead gorgeous you are when you're wearing your glasses?"

"You might have mentioned it a time or two," Justin smiled, but he didn't look up from the comment he was writing onto his pad; he did however, tip his head to the side in order to give Brian more access to his neck.

"You do," Brian said, pressing kisses along Justin's neck and jaw until he reached the lobe of his ear; he sucked it into his mouth and nibbled, delighting in the way Justin squirmed under his lips. Justin turned his head towards Brian and then sighed with contentment as Brian dropped a soft kiss onto his mouth. Brian lingered for a moment and the pulled away to nuzzle his nose against Justin's cheek.

"So, what are you doing in here?" Justin asked as Brian pulled away, running his hand over the back of Brian's head as he did so. "I figured I wouldn't see you until the end of the day given how packed your schedule is."

"I actually got through my paperwork faster than I expected and came to see if I could interest you in lunch." Brian said, running his hands over Justin's shoulders and kneading the knots at the base of his neck.

"Lunch?" Justin asked, a wicked smile touching his lips, making Brian snicker.

"An actual lunch, pervert," Brian clarified, laughing at Justin's look of mock disappointment. "Although, that _does_ sound nice too. But I know you; we'll get started and then the beast that dwells in your belly will wake up and demand food and I'll be left hanging out to dry as you give in to its demands."

"Don't call our Sunbeam a beast," Justin huffed playfully, deliberately misconstruing Brian's words as he closed the file he'd been working on; and then, much to Brian's disappointment, he took off his glasses and set them in their case.

"Never," Brian huffed, still working out the knots in Justin's neck, eliciting a soft sigh of pleasure from Justin's lips. "I would never do that, and well you know it. I was talking about the one that growls loud enough that small children run from you in fear when it awakens."

"Ha ha…" Justin deadpanned; he rolled his eyes and slid his hand up, linking their fingers as he tipped his head back to look at Brian. "Such a comedian. Do us all a favor and don't give up your day job."

"Wasn't planning on it," Brian said as he dropped a kiss onto Justin's nose; and then he pulled away and stepped back, allowing Justin the space to slide his chair out and get up. "So, lunch?"

"I could eat," Justin quipped, smirking when Brian rolled his eyes at the typical answer.

"Well, like there was _ever_ any doubt about that," Brian snorted as he headed for the door with Justin on his heels. He stepped through and waited, wrapping his arm around Justin's waist as he came out of the office. "I'm guessing you'll want to go to the diner for your daily ration of grease."

"You know me so well," Justin beamed, giggling as Brian groused about all the extra time he would have to spend on the treadmill from just walking into that place. "We should remember to bring something back for Cynthia. She was bitching about forgetting her lunch this morning and saying that she wasn't going to have time to go get something."

"She should just break down and send her assistant," Brian huffed as they walked out the front door and into the pale winter sunlight. "That's what they are there for – to assist you in any manner that you need."

"Would you send Yasmeen?" Justin asked knowingly, arching his brow in a very Kinney-esque manner. He really needed to stop stealing Brian's expressions.

"No, I would not," Brian said, a small shudder coursing through his body at the look he knew he'd get if he ever demanded such a thing. "But that is an entirely different matter; Julia is as sweet as can be, while Yasmeen would likely have my liver for lunch if I said anything like that. Luckily, I have you to make sure I'm fed on a daily basis. Don't think that I'm not fully aware of the pact you made with Emmylou to make sure I'm watered and fed when you aren't around."

"It was necessary," Justin huffed as they walked hand in hand down the sidewalk, forcing people to walk around them. "You can't survive on coffee and sheer stubbornness alone, Brian."

"I beg to differ," Brian smirked, pulling Justin close to avoid the woman running towards, and then past, them. "I managed without you for years if I remember correctly."

"Barely," Justin snorted, wrapping his arm around Brian's waist. "I still have no idea you survived considering that every time I came over, you had nothing but beer, water and poppers in your refrigerator."

"Take out is my king," Brian snickered, pressing a kiss on Justin's temple. "Or at least it was before you came along; I had all the best restaurants on speed dial and someone willing to deliver at each and every one of them for the right price."

"Yeah, and I'll bet I know what _that_ price was," Justin snickered, rolling his eyes.

And Brian really couldn't refute his husband's words as that had happened on more than one occasion; it gave a whole new meaning to delivery service.

"But luckily, I don't have to worry about that now, as I have the little woman at home to see to _all_ of my needs," Brian quipped, laughing and dodging when Justin squawked and lashed out to hit him upside the head for his description of him.

"Oh, you are so going to pay for that tonight," Justin warned, shaking a finger at him.

"Looking forward to it, Sunshine," Brian said, his tongue pressed firmly into his cheek and eyes dancing with laughter as Justin just glared at him.

Sometimes, when Brian thought back to those first rocky years between the two of them, Brian couldn't believe how far they'd come. He would have never been able to tease Justin like this. Hell, he would have never _wanted_ to tease Justin like this. The whole idea of commitment and marriage had made him shudder and he would never have referred to Justin as his wife, teasing or otherwise, because he didn't do relationships.

He had to really wonder what the fuck he'd been thinking then; and why the idea of it and growing older scared him so badly. Because the idea of not doing this, of not being with this man all these years later made him want to puke these days. And it very well could have happened if Justin had been even the slightest bit less stubborn or resilient.

Brian grabbed Justin's hand and tugged him into his arms, snickering when Justin continued to grumble at his words and vow his vengeance when Brian least expected it. And Brian didn't doubt for a minute that his Sunshine would succeed in that venture. He leaned down and kissed Justin on the cheek, which his husband only grudgingly allowed; and then he opened his mouth to comment that Justin's ideas of punishment usually weren't much of a punishment in the end, but he was cut off by a loud voice calling over to them.

"Justin!" the queen called, waving her hand as she tried to hurry over to them in her four-inch heels; and how anyone could walk in those things, he had no idea. They looked beyond uncomfortable. "Brian!"

"Do we know her?" Justin whispered, watching the struggling queen with a confused look on his face. Brian snickered because he knew exactly why Justin didn't recognize her. And damn, what a night that had been.

"She was a last minute replacement when Sheba broke her ankle that one time," Brian informed him with a grin, snickering when Justin grimaced.

"Oh, right," Justin said, his cheeks coloring as he too recalled that night. Or, well what he'd been told of that night. "I think I vaguely remember that."

"I'm surprised you remember anything considering how plastered you and your little entourage were that night," Brian snorted, shaking his head disparagingly at his husband. Justin stuck his tongue out at him. "That was the night Ted, Drew and I bonded for life despairing at our partners antics."

"Oh, but what fun it was!" Justin smirked, his eyes dancing with deviltry.

As they should be considering the amount of trouble he, Blake and Emmett had caused. Bailing them out that night had been a blast; especially when Justin kept arguing with the officer that the dildo had only improved that travesty that City Hall called art.

Don't ask. No, seriously _don't_ ask. He still didn't know how on Earth the three of them had gotten out of Babylon and down to City Hall, _without_ being seen, in the first place.

"It's not every day that you get the chance to celebrate your first solo show," Justin finished, a smirk firmly planted on his face. "That only happens once in a lifetime, and I decided I was going to go all out. God, I hated life the next morning, but it was so worth it."

Brian was about to comment, but by then the queen had made it to them, slightly out of breath do to having to haul ass in those torture devices she called shoes. Brian turned to her and tried to recall her name, but was having trouble with it; although, he was pretty sure it was something like Annie Depressant or Charity Case or Leia Way, or something equally tongue-in-cheek and self-deprecating.

"Justin," the queen gushed, rushing up to his husband. Justin smiled at her uncertainly; mostly because he didn't remember climbing up onto the stage with her and belting out a Gloria Gaynor medley, and doing a surprisingly good job of it. "My have you grown; the last time I saw you, you weren't even showing yet. And now look at you."

Justin continued to smile and nod as she gushed on and on and even laughed when she mentioned his medley and some of the antics that he and the other boys had gotten up to the night she'd hosted…well, whatever competition it had been that night. They all sort of blended together after awhile and he couldn't remember a damned one of them. Well, except for the King of Babylon contest that Justin had competed in when he was seventeen; but Brian still refused to talk about it to this day.

His husband laughed again, and seemed to be relaxing, when she leaned in and made the biggest blunder that she could have made with Justin. Without thinking, or asking, she reached out and tried to touch his baby bump; which was a strict no-no in Justin's book. He'd always been notoriously picky about people touching him since the bashing as it was; but the baby bump was strictly off limits to _everyone_ except Brian, unless he invited you to touch it. And if you dared, it brought on a queen out of epic proportions.

Like right now.

"What are you doing?" Justin demanded, going from warmth and laughter to glacial in a split second, his hands coming up to cover his baby bump.

Oh, yeah, this was about to get ugly.

"I was just…" the queen stuttered, shrinking back when Justin glared at her.

"Just what?" he demanded, his eyes frosting over and turning into two little blue ice chips as he began to rant. "Fuck, I barely even know you; why would you think it's acceptable to touch me without my permission? Would _you_ like it if I ran up to you out of the blue and started fondling your breasts or grabbing your junk without permission?"

The queen flushed as she realized just how rude her actions had been; she shook her head and had the grace to look ashamed and apologetic for her actions, but Justin was hardly appeased by the gesture. Brian sighed and decided that  he'd better step in and nip this in the bud before Justin completely obliterated her.

"Then why the fuck would you think it's acceptable to touch my stomach without my permission?" Justin demanded again, his cheeks red with anger. "It is just as personal, as _intimate_ , as if I were to grab your junk."

"Okay, settle down, tiger," Brian said, pulling his shaken husband away from the equally shaken queen. He tucked Justin under his arm and forcefully ushered him down the street, nodding to the queen as they passed. "I think she got the picture; time to go and feed the demon growling in your belly. And no, I'm not talking about Sunbeam, but whatever is growling in there at the moment."

Justin huffed and glared at the queen over his shoulder, but allowed Brian to guide him towards the diner without much protest. He turned back around and looked at Brian. "What the hell is wrong with people? Why the fuck would anyone…"

"They're just all a bunch of excited queens that want to celebrate the new Prince or Princess of Liberty Avenue's arrival, Sunshine," Brian carefully said, being sure to not mention anything that would give away the gender as the Avenue was full of nosy assholes, and also cutting of what he knew would be an hour long tirade if he hadn't have done so.

Really, there were only so many times he could listen to this particular rant before he wanted to pull his hair out. He really should just get Justin a t-shirt that instructed people to stay the fuck away from the belly if they wanted to live. Actually, that wasn't such a bad idea, and Justin would love it.

"They can't help themselves," Brian continued, pressing a kiss to Justin's temple.

"Well they can celebrate by staying the fuck out of my fucking personal space," Justin growled as they walked into the diner, storming over to their usual table in a high dudgeon.

Brian just rolled his eyes and nodded as he sat across from his fuming husband and prayed for patience; maybe if he fed him one of his fucking Twinkies, he'd lighten up. One could hope, at least.


	60. February 27

**February 27**

_Justin walked through the store, chattering away to his mother as they did the grocery shopping, his heavily pregnant belly guiding the way down the aisles. God, he couldn't wait to get this kid out of him; it seemed like he'd been pregnant forever, and he ached all over, with his hips and back taking the brunt._

_Resting his hands on his lower back, he laughed at something his mother said as she put things into the shopping cart and tried to ignore the dull ache in his lower body, as he just **knew** that she'd force him to sit down if she found out he'd been lying about it. And, frankly, he'd felt like he'd been far too sedentary the past couple of weeks as it was and he just needed to move._

_Now, if only his body would get with the picture._

_Sighing, Justin shot an envious look at the cart that his mother was pushing; something that she insisted on doing as it was full to the brim with food, and she didn't want him exerting himself. But, fuck; he'd so love to have something to lean against just for a little additional support. That is, if his stomach didn't get in the fucking way as he was as big as a house and it did with everything these days._

_"_ _You know, Justin," his mother said, a wry smile on her face. "I could have done this myself. I am more than capable of buying food that both you and Brian would actually eat. Or, if you were that concerned, Anna could have come with me. You really didn't need to come yourself and should stay off your feet right now. It can't be all that comfortable doing all this walking."_

_Justin huffed; so, he guessed he hadn't been as discreet as he'd hoped with how he was feeling; not if his mother knew within the first twenty minutes of shopping that he was having difficulties. Then again, it could just be that she knew him that well._

_"_ _I know," Justin scowled, crossing his arms low on his chest, so that they were nearly resting on his burgeoning belly. "But if I didn't get out of the house today, I just might have screamed. I swear, Brian has been taking this whole overprotective daddy thing way too seriously. Just last night, I was going to get up to get a drink and he was off the couch and out of the room, getting it for me before I could even sit up."_

_And that was the absolute truth; Brian had brought new meaning to the term of helicopter parent over the last month or so. And he'd been slowly driving Justin mad with all his do's and don'ts and expectations and rules; and really, it had gotten to the point that Justin had been forced to call in the Calvary and have Ted and Emmett drag him off to do something this morning before he killed him._

_"_ _He just worries," his mother said, laughing at Justin's look of utter disbelief; because really, that was the fucking understatement of the year. She shot him a sympathetic look and patted him on the arm. "They always do. Let him wait on you if it will make him feel better. He can't do much for the actual pregnancy itself; and you know what he's like when he's feeling helpless or useless."_

_Justin sighed again; yes he did. That was the **only** reason Brian was still breathing on the days that his need to solve everything that stood in Justin's way overruled his sense of self-preservation. He's known that about Brian since the bashing, and even when he was annoyed by it, he also couldn't help but find it endearing._

_"_ _I know," Justin huffed, grabbing a couple boxes of Twinkies and tossing them in the cart, deliberately ignoring his mother's exasperated look. And how Brian had gotten her involved in their little war, he didn't know; but he wasn't going to deal with it right now. He_ _**needed** _ _his Twinkies or Brian was going to die. "I just wish he'd hover just a little less at times. You'd think that I have a terminal illness, and wasn't just pregnant by the way he acts."_

_"_ _Well, look at it this way," his mother said, pushing the cart down the aisle without saying a word about his addition to it; likely because she knew that he was already on edge and she didn't want to be bailing her pregnant son out of jail because he'd murdered his husband. "It won't be much longer now, will it?"_

_"_ _No," Justin said, inhaling sharply when Sunbeam kicked a kidney; he rubbed his back and cursed the fact that he had such an active child. "My pregnancy has recently dropped; I have been carrying mid-stomach for most of the pregnancy and now it's started to settle down into the pelvis area. Liz said that's usually a sign that the baby is getting ready to make his or her grand entrance. But she did also warn me that I could still be a couple of weeks out from birth, if not more; most first time carriers drop about two to four weeks prior to giving birth. Still, I'll be glad when it's over. I ache everywhere; and god, I am **so** tired of peeing every thirty minutes."_

_Not to mention he was so looking forward to getting a good fucking again; while they'd still found ways to make love, he and Brian had had to be a bit creative with positions; and Brian was always worrying that he'd somehow hurt the baby or cause Justin to go into labor if he didn't take things as gently as possible. Justin had told him numerous times that it wouldn't happen, but the man stubbornly refused to budge._

_"_ _I think we all get to that stage eventually," his mother laughed and then looked down at the list in her hand; she cursed under her breath and started walking back towards the end of the aisle. Justin arched an inquisitive brow, but his mother just waved him off. "Be right back. I forgot to grab the flour when we were on the other aisle."_

_Justin shrugged; and the he took the opportunity to lean against one of the grocery shelves in an effort to relieve some of the strain on his legs, feet and back. Sighing again, he rested his hands on his belly and then looked down with a frown. He ran his hands over his belly, feeling it all over and his frown deepened._

_What the hell?_

_He stood back up and pulled at his shirt, and then let it drape back over his belly, his heart hammering in his chest as he studied it, thinking he had to be wrong with his conclusion because it made absolutely no sense. He pulled out his phone and typed in the code and then activated his camera; he held it out to his side and took a picture of from the side. And then he stared at it again, shaking his head at the impossibility of what he was seeing._

_"_ _Is something wrong dear?" his mother asked; Justin startled, his eyes wide as he hadn't even heard her walk up, which was never good considering his current predicament with the stalker situation._

_He bit his lip and stared at his mother, trying to decide what to say. His mother, for her part, just stared back, a concerned frown on her face. Finally, Justin bit the bullet and figured he'd just ask, as he really couldn't help but wonder if he was losing his mind._

_"_ _Does my stomach look small to you?" he asked, looking down at his stomach; and, **again** , it'd seemed to have shrunk a bit since the last time he looked at it. _

_Smoothing his hands over his belly again, he made a small startled cry as he was certain that his shirt was looser than it had been before; there was something seriously wrong here, but he really had no idea what to think as he'd never even heard of something like this. Fear shot down his spine as he clutched at his baby bump, sending his blood pounding through his head and thundering in his ears, a cold sweat breaking across his brow._

_"_ _I can't really tell any difference," his mother said, looking utterly flummoxed by the question; and then she just stared at Justin like he'd grown another head as he started pawing at his shirt in an effort to pull it up to get a better look; but it wouldn't cooperate._

_"_ _Something doesn't feel right," Justin insisted, his voice pitching higher than usual in his panic; but his mom just shook her head in puzzlement._

_And Justin just shook **his** in exasperation at **her** lack of reaction, as he _ _**knew** _ _that something was seriously wrong! His hands began to shake as he continued to struggle with his shirt, the material growing slacker as his stomach continued to shrink. In fact, he could actually feel the baby inside him shrinking, getting smaller with every passing breath, and he didn't know what to do to stop it before it totally disappeared!_

_"_ _Mom," Justin choked, his hands scrambling over his belly, his sight graying around the edges as he began to hyperventilate; and yet, he knew that there was nothing that he could do to stop it. "Something is really,_ _**really** _ _wrong here. My belly keeps shrinking. How can you not see it? This is your grandchild for fucks sake! What's going on? What's happening to my baby?"_

_"_ _I'm just not seeing anything wrong Justin," his mother said, running her hand over his brow as if she was checking for a fever; but he wasn't sick damn it! His baby was disappearing before his very eyes and she wasn't doing a damn thing to help him! "Are you sure it's not just all in your head?"_

_"_ _No, something is **wrong** ," Justin choked out, the tempo of his heart ratcheting up another notch as he could barely feel the baby fluttering anymore. "I can feel it! It's like it's shrinking; getting smaller and smaller, like my body is absorbing it. Look, don't you see it? I'm half the size I was when we got here and there is all this excess, loose skin. I'm not going crazy!"_

_Justin reached down and started crying as the bump was almost gone; and he didn't know just how he was going to survive without…_

 

Justin shot up straight out of bed, his breathing harsh and shallow as he scrambled with the blankets; he yanked them off, shivering as the cold early morning air hit his sweat-dampened neck, back and chest; and then he pressed his hands to his baby bump with a sigh of relief. He flopped back against his pillows and tried to get his breathing under control, his hands still cradling his precious Sunbeam, still worried that the bump would disappear at any moment.

Jesus! That had felt so fucking real!

Taking a deep breath, Justin closed his eyes, his heart still thundering in his chest and his body quaking at the vivid dream, and vowed to never eat chili cheese dogs before bed again if this was going to be the result. Pressing his hands tighter to his stomach in an effort to reassure himself that had indeed been a dream, Justin startled as he felt a hand running through his hair, combing it back from his face.

Opening his eyes, he turned and met Brian's sleepy, but worried gaze, and took comfort in the hand that continued to pet him until his breathing and heart rate had returned to normal. Sighing, he scooted closer to his husband and pressed his face against Brian's shoulder, just breathing him in as Brian continued to soothe his worries away.

"Are you okay," Brian finally asked, pressing a soft kiss to his temple.

Justin nodded and took a shuddering breath as the adrenaline started to leech from his body. He pulled away and looked up into Brian's worried eyes and kissed him softly on the lips.

"Yeah," Justin croaked, and then cleared the frog from his throat; he still had his hands attached protectively around his belly, because fuck; that dream was far too vivid and felt too real for him to let go. "I just had a weird, fucking dream, that's all."

Brian nodded and rolled his lips between his teeth as he stared down at Justin's hands, and the way he continued to cradle their child. "What was it about?"

"I…it…I don't know how to describe it," Justin stammered, jumping a bit when Brian moved and his hands joined Justin's on his baby bump. Smiling weakly, Justin struggled to come up with the words to explain his weird dream; but he didn't think that there really was a way to do it, so he just dove in. "In it, I was about eight months pregnant or so."

Brian nodded as Justin paused; he propped his head up on one hand so that he was looking down on Justin. Justin swallowed thickly and then panicked when Brian began to pry his hands from his belly. Brian halted and just stared at Justin, trying to reassure him without words that it was okay and Justin clenched his hands for a moment, but did let them fall away, only to have them replaced by Brian's hand gently stroking it.

Justin took a deep breath and continued.

"The pregnancy had just dropped and I was shopping with my mom, when all of a sudden my stomach started shrinking. Like the baby was getting smaller and smaller, and the pregnancy was going in reverse? Or the baby was being absorbed into me? I don't know. But something weird was going on; and, for some reason, my mom didn't or couldn't see anything wrong. And nothing I did or said could convince her that there was something wrong with Sunbeam; but there clearly was, as every time I looked down at my stomach it was that much smaller."

Brian's brows shot up into his hairline, and he seemed to be at a loss for words as he continued to run his hand over Justin's belly. And well, Justin couldn't really blame him for that, as Justin didn't even know what to say or think about the dream. His doctor, Liz, had told him to expect these kinds of vivid, pregnancy dreams; she even went into the whole anatomy of it and why they occurred, but Justin had just shrugged it off at the time. He'd always been a vivid dreamer and hadn't thought much about she had been saying.

But after this one, and the quintuplets dream, he now had a better idea of what she'd meant; and he really wasn't looking forward to more.

"Like I said, it was weird," Justin finished lamely; he snuggled up to Brian and buried his face into his shoulder, just breathing him in once more.

"Well, try to get some more sleep," Brian said, pressing a kiss to Justin's temple and wrapping an arm around him when he felt Justin tense up. "I'll be right here to watch over you and wake you if need be."


	61. February 28

**February 28**

"Do, I even want to know what caused this?" Brian asked, praying for strength as he stared at the closed and locked door of the break room.

When he'd gotten off of his conference call with Nebula Cosmetics, and had been told that there was a minor crisis that needed his attention, he'd been expecting an artwork fuck up or some account that needed a little finessing because the ad exec had made an ass of themselves. He hadn't expected to come out and find his husband barricaded in the break room, refusing anyone entrance.

Sighing, Brian rubbed a hand over his jaw and fondly remembered a time where coming into the office actually meant he spent his time _working_ rather than putting out the resultant fires of his husband's queen outs. Of course, back then, his husband hadn't been pregnant and had actually been a reasonable person. God, he couldn't fucking wait until this whole pregnancy hormone shit was over and done with.

That day could not come soon enough.

"Just some assholes on the street making rude comments," Blake sighed, rubbing Luc's back, trying to burp him, but the newborn seemed much more interested in sleeping instead.

"Who were they and what did they say?" Brian demanded, thoroughly sick of Justin getting smacked in the face by others' bad attitudes and snide words; and he was just done with this, and would do whatever was necessary to let the Avenue know that this ended now if he had to track each, and every, one of these assholes down to beat some sense into them.

"Calm down, Papa Bear," Blake said, rolling his eyes when Brian glared at him and impatiently gestured for him to get on with it. "They were actually saying shit to me – well, at first. Justin shut them down pretty hard."

Brian's brows rose at that, wondering why they would be targeting Blake; not that he thought that Blake wasn't worthy of envy or jealousy, but he was usually so mellow, that few people ever had a bad thing to say about him.

"What did they say?" Ted asked, a guilty flush to his cheeks; likely because he hadn't been there to defend his husband as he'd been here at the office. While technically he was still out on paternity leave until March 10, he had been stopping in for a couple of hours every other day to get up to speed before coming back.

"Oh, some assholes were commenting on how I'd let myself go," Blake snorted, shaking his head at the absurdity of it; he seemed completely unperturbed by the confrontation. "Because, you know, it isn't like I had a baby not even two months ago. And this one queen – you know that one that's always hitting on you like I'm not standing right next you – said that he _'felt skinny standing next to me.'_ "

"What?" Cynthia asked rhetorically; her face was pinched and she looked like she was ready to go track down said idiots herself and deliver her own brand of swift and painful retaliation; likely with the very pointy, sharp heels of her favorite Loubouton pumps.

"Yeah," Blake huffed, rolling his eyes as he lay Luc back down into his stroller. "Like I said – assholes. But it didn't get too far as Justin came up when he said that, scoffed, looked him up and down pointedly and said, ' _I'd enjoy it while you can since it's unlikely that this will ever happen again.'_ "

Brian snickered and shook his head while the others broke down laughing; he crossed his arms over his chest and glanced at the door, which remained stubbornly closed. While he did acknowledge that the comment had been unkind, and if he were Ted, he'd be looking for these assholes and introducing his foot to their ass; it felt more like a desperate bid for attention, rather than something Justin would find offensive.

"So why has he locked himself in the break room?" Brian asked again, more concerned with what had set his husband off this time.

"Well, as soon as he spoke up," Blake said as he repacked the bottle and burp cloth into Luc's diaper bag. "The bitchy little queen turned on him and started being rude to him. First he speculated on whether or not the baby was actually yours given Justin's and your reputation for fucking around. To which Justin laughed and said that he _'was pretty sure of it since yours was the only cock he's had up his ass in the last four years.'_ "

"I'm sure that went over well," Ted said dryly, but he was obviously holding back another chuckle at Justin's waspish tongue. And Brian himself was having a hard time containing his mirth as he knew very well that challenging Justin to a battle of wits was always a mistake if you were unarmed like this twat had been.

"As well as you could imagine," Blake smirked, his eyes dancing with amusement. "So _then_ the queen said that he was surprised that you could _even have_ kids at this venture with all the drinking and drugs and shit you did and snidely asked if you guys used fertility treatments. And Justin just looked at him with a dry smile and said, _'if I say no, are you going to ask what position we used next? Because that would be hard to pin down considering we usually fuck three to four times a night in various positions.'_ "

That had set off another round of laughter, with Brian even joining in and chuckling this time. He couldn't help feeling ridiculously proud of his husband.

"Oh my God," Cynthia wheezed through her laughter, eyes wet with tears of laughter and her cheeks stained red, her breath labored as she tried to regain her composure. "Please, tell me someone got that on video."

"I have no idea," Blake huffed between laughs, looking ridiculously proud at Justin's words. "But I wouldn't be surprised as we attracted a bit of an audience."

"So, what happened then?" Brian prompted, still trying to get down to the reason his husband had stormed into the office, had a few words with Yasmeen, and then stalked into the break room, slamming the door behind him. "So far I haven't heard anything that would have him locking himself in the break room with a platter of cupcakes."

"Well, seeing that he wasn't getting the response that he'd hoped for," Blake continued with a sigh, a small frown sliding over his lips. "He pulled out the big guns and snidely told Justin that he better enjoy the sex while he could because it was only a matter of time before you went back to tricking because you found his weight gain repulsive."

"Fuck," Brian hissed; of all the things the asshole could have said, he had to hit the one sore point that was certain to sent Justin into a tailspin. He'd already run up against this issue _twice_ due to Mikey, and he didn't need this asshole bringing it back up. He pinched the bridge of his nose. "What happened after that?"

"Well, to give him credit," Blake said with a small smile. "Justin just sneered at him and said, _'Even if he did, he_ _ **still**_ _wouldn't fuck you even with someone else's dick; he doesn't do whiny queens that make 'pencil dick' seem like a compliment.'_ "

Brian snorted again, which quickly morphed into a full-blown laugh as he imagined the look on the queen's face as Justin said that. If nothing else, Justin knew how to cut someone down to size with nothing more than a few well chosen words.

 _Learned that at his mother's feet he did_ , Brian thought; and then shook his head and cursed under his breath. Fucking Mikey and his Star Wars obsession.

"That's my boy," Brian muttered proudly under his breath garnering amused smirks from the others. "You put those bitchy queens in their place." He paused and then turned back to Blake with a frown having finally narrowed down what had Justin frothing at the mouth. "So, I'm assuming that was what sent him storming off into the break room?"

"I guess?" Blake said, his tone lilting into a faint question as he shrugged his shoulders. "After he said that, one of the Doms from Meat Hook came over and the queen nearly pissed his pants when he said that it ' _sounded like someone needed an attitude adjustment_ ,' and if he didn't watch it, he ' _might just take up the challenge_.'"

Blake paused as they all had a good laugh over that development, and then continued. "The queen pretty much fled after that and Justin stormed off over here. He went looking for you first, but when Yasmeen said you were on a conference call, she also mentioned the cupcakes and he's been in there ever since."

"Christ," Brian huffed, scrubbing a hand over his face as he turned back to the door, staring at it as if it would open under his sheer will, but it remained stubbornly closed with his pouting husband on the other side. Luckily, he had an easy remedy for that. "Just what I need today." Brian strode back down the hall to his assistant's desk and held out a hand. "Yasmeen, could you please give me the extra set of office keys in your desk so I can go pry my drama princess out of the break room."

"Good luck with that," Yasmeen smirked knowingly, but turned to and opened a drawer in her desk nonetheless and pulled out a set of keys. She turned back and dropped them into Brian's outstretched hand.

"What makes you say that," Brian asked, narrowing his gaze as she just continued to look at him smugly; as if she knew something he didn't.

"I'm sure you'll figure it out when you get in there," Yasmeen said, snickering when Brian rolled his eyes and turned on his heel to head back down the hall.

"I hate when she gets fucking cryptic; it always ends badly for me," Brian muttered, swiftly passing the growing crowd outside the break room; he paused to glare at the lot of them. "Don't you have work to do!? Because I could have sworn this was an actual office building and not a playground. But hey, if you don't have something to do…"

Brian never finished as everyone but Blake, Ted and Cynthia scurried back to their desks, having learned through experience that they _never_ wanted Brian to actually find them something to do as it usually ended in tears. He arched a brow at the remaining three despite knowing he couldn't intimidate them.

"I don't work here," Blake said with a shrug.

"I'm on paternity leave," Ted smirked, making Brian roll his eyes.

"And don't even try it with me," Cynthia added, crossing her arms over her chest. "You'd never survive if I were to leave."

Brian rolled his lips under, and turned away; he walked over to the door, inserted the key and unlocked it. Opening the door, he met the irritated eyes of his drama princess and stepped through the door, closing it behind him. He locked it again and arched a brow, crossing his arms over his chest as he considered the merits of waiting Justin out and letting him talk in his own time. But he decided against it; he didn't have the time as he need to fix this before his next conference call in an hour and a half.

"So, I hear you had a busy day," Brian offered as salutation, huffing when Justin merely grunted and continued to determinedly peel the paper away from the cupcake in his hand. Blatantly ignoring Brian, Justin sank his teeth into the cupcake and moaned with pleasure, his eyelashes fluttering.

Brian continued to stare at him for several long moments, willing Justin to cave; but his husband just stared back and continued to eat his cupcake.  So, it's going to be like that then; all right, fine, time to switch tactics.

"Look, Sunshine," Brian said, walking over to the table; he placed his hands on it and leaned forward. "You can't mind what the idiots say; they don't know a damned thing about us or what I think. They're just a bunch of jealous queers who wish that it was them that had exclusive rights to my cock."

Justin snorted and finished off his cupcake, licking his fingers before he grabbed another.

"Oh, fuck that," Justin huffed as he licked his lips free of frosting, a move that went straight to Brian's dick. "Like I care what a bunch of bitchy queens say. I was over that as soon as Jonathon came out and offered his services to the brainless twit."

Brian hummed and cocked his head. The words had the ring of truth to them; but at the same time, Brian was having a hard time buying it. Justin was far to annoyed not to be upset about something. It was just a matter of figuring out what.

"Then why lock yourself in here with the cupcakes?" Brian asked, gesturing to the now half-empty platter; one that he was fairly certain had been full when it was sitting at Yasmeen's desk about twenty minutes ago.

"Because they're red velvet and full of awesome?" Justin said, staring at him as if it were the most obvious answer in the world.

And then Brian knew why Yasmeen was laughing at him; because after Twinkies, Yasmeen's red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting were Justin's own form of crack. And once he got started, he would not stop eating them until they were all gone. The only problem was that there were still nearly a dozen cupcakes on the platter and Brian so didn't want to deal with a sick Justin, whining that his stomach hurt because he ate too many fucking cupcakes in one sitting. No fucking way in hell.

But first, Brian needed to find out why he was pouting in the first place; and then maybe, by fixing that, he could stop this train wreck from happening.

"And that's it?" Brian probed; he was, quite frankly, skeptical because there was no way that Justin would be in such a pissy mood if he was 'over it.' Not when he had a plate of _those_ cupcakes in front of him. "Because, I gotta tell you, Sunshine; you seem a little too worked up for someone who's over it."

"I'm fine," Justin insisted, his lips still turned down into a pout; and God help him, Brian was torn between finding it adorable and wanting to haul him over his knee and spank his sulky ass, giving him a real reason to pout.

"I call bullshit," Brian huffed, desperately fighting for patience as he knew yelling at Justin wouldn't solve a damned thing. "So rather than me sitting here playing twenty questions; why don't you tell me what's annoying you so we can figure out a way to fix it."

"There is no way to fix it, Brian," Justin said, flicking a disgruntled look his way. "Because it's one of the _forbidden_ things. It's fine; I'll deal with it."

"One of the forbidden things?" Brian said slowly, having a bad feeling he knew where this was going; there were only a few things that mattered that Justin was forbidden from doing due to the pregnancy, and most of them revolved around some of his favorite foods. And since it was lunchtime, it was easy to deduce that he was craving something he shouldn't have.

"Yes," Justin hissed; and then he scowled as he picked up yet another cupcake and began unwrapping it. "One of the forbidden things."

"Dare I ask?" Brian asked, praying for patience; because _really_? He'd come running out his office, worried that the little twat's feelings had been hurt due to something someone had said or done to him, and he was pouting because he couldn't have what he wanted to eat? _Jesus fucking Christ_. Had he mentioned that he'd be glad when all this hormonal pregnancy shit was over with?

Justin remained silent, focusing all his attention onto his cupcake.

"Sunshine…" Brian drawled in a warning tone.

"I'm craving sushi, okay?" Justin grumbled, his cheeks flushing as he said it. "Blake and I were walking to the diner for lunch when that twit stopped us right outside the new sushi place; and fuck, it's been so long since I've had good plate of sashimi and this waiter walked right past the window with a big, heaping platter of it and bam! Sunbeam said, ' _Feed me! I want that!_ ' But, of course, I can't eat any fucking sushi or sashimi, so I'm currently trying to convince Sunbeam that red velvet cupcakes are better."

"You're craving sushi…" Brian stated in a neutral tone. And then he couldn't help it; he stood up and dug his fingers into his eyes in an effort to stave off the headache growing behind them. Fucking _sushi_. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"Didn't I just say that?" Justin asked irritably, his eyes flashing up for a brief second before he went back to chomping on his cupcake.

Brian sighed and once again prayed for patience; he couldn't believe that all this drama was over a fucking sushi craving. It seemed to defy all reason; yet there it was. And by the deepening of Justin's scowl, it wasn't going away any time soon. So, Brian took a deep breath and rolled his lips between his teeth.

As he saw it, he had one of two choices – he could either A) leave Justin here to sulk, (and really, he fully deserved it considering the sheer ridiculousness of this entire episode), and go about his day as planned; which would be the more productive option. Of course, it was also the option that would end with him paying for it later that night when his husband was still feeling pissy, _and_ giving him the silent treatment to boot. Or B) he could use the tried and true method of snapping Justin out of his mood and relieve some of his own stress at the same time.

And since he wasn't a complete idiot, he chose option B.

Striding over to his husband, Brian yanked out his chair, startling Justin into dropping the cupcake he'd just picked up on the ground. Brian stared at it for a moment, and wondered if he should clean it up, but then said fuck it; he had more important things to do. Or more to the point, he had more important _people_ to do, or well just one _person_. Decision made, Brian spun Justin's chair around and stooped; and since he couldn't throw Justin over his shoulder due to Sunbeam, he scooped him out of his chair bridal-style.

"Brian!" Justin exclaimed, his arms automatically wrapping around Brian's neck; he looked at him incredulously. "What are you doing?"

"I'm taking you some place a bit more private so that I can give you a much needed attitude adjustment with your favorite tool," Brian huffed, purposely using the Dom's words from earlier in order to make the brat squirm for all this unnecessary drama.

"What, your hand?" Justin challenged, squirming a bit in his arms as Brian juggled him so that he could unlock and open the break room door.

"No," Brian said as he stepped over the threshold and strode down the hall, passing Cynthia, Blake and Ted in the process. Nosy bastards. "My dick."

Justin squawked with embarrassment, and buried his reddening face into Brian's neck as both Ted and Blake snickered, and then proceeded to make themselves scarce. Which was good for them as he doubted they wanted to play witness.

"Yasmeen," Brian called as he passed her desk.

"Yes," Yasmeen said, looking surprised that he'd managed to pry Justin away from his prize; although, he didn't know _why_ as he _always_ got his way in the end.

"Now would be a good time to take your lunch," Brian announced as he headed into his office. "And take your time; I insist."

He smirked as Yasmeen laughed and began gathering her things; he kicked the door shut behind him and locked it before hauling a babbling Justin over to his couch and dropping him onto it. Sometimes, the only way to deal with a queening out brat was to go back to the basics.


	62. March 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just an FYI: I'll likely be late in posting over the next few days as RL is a pain in the ass right now. I'll try to do so as early as possible, but it likely won't be until midnight or so PST if things keep up the way they have. Thanks for reading and all of your support! :)

**March 1**

Justin sipped his coffee, trying to stretch it out for as long as possible as he knew he was going to need the energy pick-me-up today and this was the only caffeine that he was allowed. He glanced over at the clock and stood, gathering up his and Brian's breakfast plates from the table and walking them over to the sink.

Brian looked up from his paper and grimaced at the time; and then he hastily folded it as Justin rinsed their dishes and stacked them into the dishwasher. Standing, he quickly gathered it up, one eye on Justin the entire time and then hastily made a beeline for the door; just as Justin had suspected he would. And he thought he wasn't predictable.

"Don't go too far," Justin called over his shoulder, smirking when Brian cursed under his breath, realizing he hadn't been so stealthy in his retreat. Justin shook his head in amusement; he'd known for days just how much his husband had been dreading today and he couldn't help teasing him. "I'm going to need your help."

"Justin…" Brian said, coming suspiciously close to a whine; not that he'd ever admit to it.

"Brian…" Justin mimicked as he dried his hands and turned around; Brian scowled and Justin could see him internally denying that he'd sounded anywhere near that whiny. But...

They stared at each other for a long moment; with Brian obviously searching for a plausible reason to get out of Justin's plans for the day. And Justin willing to let him sweat it out for a bit just because he could. Brian's scowl deepened as he'd obviously failed to come up with a reason; so, Justin decided to let him off the hook.

"I wasn't talking about putting the favors together," Justin said, rolling his eyes at his husband's antics. "I'd rather not listen to you whine all day. _But_ , Em has several boxes that need to be brought in; so, I'm certain that you and Drew can take a few minutes out of your busy schedules to get your He-Man on and bring them in for us; and then you're free to do whatever the hell you want."

Brian narrowed his eyes and stared at Justin suspiciously. Justin just smiled winsomely; it wasn't his fault that Brian had misunderstood; even if that had been his intention. Growling under his breath, Brian stalked over to Justin, knowing he'd been had.

"Oh, you are so asking for it, Sunshine," Brian warned, yanking Justin against him as he'd tried to pass by; not that it did much good, as Justin just continued to smile serenely. "I still haven't gotten you back for the triplets joke, and you just keep adding to your balance."

"I'm trembling in my boots," Justin snickered, quickly extracting himself from his husband's clutches, and walking out of the kitchen to go wait in the foyer for his guests.

"Laugh now, little boy," Brian huffed, following in Justin's wake; he stomped off to the living room, his only concession to Justin's request. "I'll get you when you least expect it."

"And I look forward to it," Justin simpered, yelping when Brian swatted him on the ass with the newspaper as he passed by. Justin rubbed his hand over his smarting ass and glared at his completely unrepentant husband. Asshole. As if it wasn't sore enough from yesterday.

Brian smirked, his tongue in his cheek as he flopped onto the couch and picked up the section he'd been reading at the table, blatantly ignoring Justin's stink eye. Justin huffed and turned away, watching through the window for Em and Drew's car. And after a few minutes he perked up as Em's voice came over the intercom and Justin opened the gate for them.

Walking over to the door, he opened it just in time to see Em and Drew pull up, followed by a second car that he hadn't been expecting. Turning to Em, he raised brows, silently asking what was going on as Em climbed out and rounded the van.

"I hope you don't mind that I brought Todd and Darren along," Em said by way of explanation as the aforementioned two stepped out of the second car and made their way over to the back of Em's van. "I figured some additional hands wouldn't hurt since we have a lot to do today."

"Hey Todd, Darren, Drew," Justin nodded and greeted the other three before turning back to Em. "Fine by me; I set us up in the kitchen since all the cookies, the chocolates and the champagne bottles were being stored in the pantry anyways."

"Perfect," Em said, opening the back doors to his van, revealing several medium sized boxes, which Justin assumed held the various favor boxes that Em had ordered and had sent to his house by accident. "I have the favor boxes that we ordered, plus [the ones that I made](https://imgur.com/EZ1jas7) in the back; you said fifty, right?"

"Yup," Justin nodded, wondering how on Earth his guest list had crept up that high. So, much for a small get together. "It's really like forty-six or forty-seven, but this way we have a few extra in case something happens or we have an unexpected guest."

"How the fuck do you have that many people to invite?" Brian asked as he finally came out of the house; nodding at the others, he reached in and grabbed a couple of boxes out of the van, stacking one on top of the other. "We don't have that much family.

"Well there's more than the family to think of, Brian," Justin huffed as he grabbed one of the smaller boxes. "We have some friends from Babylon coming, along with a few from Kinnetik. And then a few of your accounts needed to be invited, as you know damned well that Kellie and Lucille would have our balls if they weren't. And then there was my agent and her husband, and Sydney and his wife and other various friends from New York. It adds up."

"Mr. Popular," Brian mocked as he picked the boxes up.

"I can't help if people adore me," Justin simpered, fluttering his lashes and making Brian snort as he walked back towards the house.

"Hey Todd; how's it going?" Brian said with an absent nod as he passed.

"Fine…" Todd lazily replied, echoing his typical answer whenever they were at Babylon, and making Justin, Darren and Emmett snicker as he walked past Justin to grab another box.

Brian paused and did a double take, staring at Todd as if he'd never seen him before, and then he shook his head and continued into the house. Justin snickered, well aware of the reason behind Brian's confusion as this was likely the first time that he'd ever seen Todd outside the back room at Babylon.

Shaking his head, Justin focused on the task at hand, and with everyone helping, they'd managed to get it all in within a couple of trips; after which Brian and Drew immediately disappeared. He played host for a few moments, pulling out drinks and snacks and setting them on the counter and then walked over to the table, where Emmett had started laying things out.

"So, how do you want to do this?" Emmett asked, as he pulled out another tray of cookies from the pantry and set it down. "Because as much as I wish otherwise, I doubt we can fit everything in the boxes I made."

"You made it to my specs, right?" Justin asked, wondering what might have gone wrong with the boxes, as he'd already figured out just how much room they were going to need and there should be plenty of it if Emmett had followed the specs.

"Yeah," Emmett said as he grabbed several boxes of chocolates from the pantry as well. "But I tried to put it all in there, and there just isn't room for the [T-shirts](https://imgur.com/4mbhZjN), Baby."

"Oh, sorry!" Justin exclaimed, immediately realizing the problem. "I forgot to tell you; the shirts aren't going to be in the box. We're going to hand them out at the door; they're all the same side, so I'm setting them on a table, along with a couple that I'm going to leave out in lieu of a guest book. The guests will sign those instead; that way we can frame them later and hang them in Sunbeam's room."

"Oh, well that makes much more sense!" Emmett said, sighing in relief that he hadn't messed anything up. "I'm glad to know that I didn't put them together wrong. And it's such a cute way to remember the event! I so love them, and I'm so glad that Yasmeen suggested them."

"Me too," Justin agreed, smiling as he pulled out a box of champagne bottles to add to their growing piles of goodies. "So, I figured that we'd each take a station since there are four of us now and do this as sort of an assembly line? Like Todd, if you'll come over here and I'll have you put together the boxes for the [Dipped Oreos](https://imgur.com/0qwGfdG) and then have you pack them up if you could, please."

"Sure, Justin," Todd said as he came over to where Justin was standing; he opened the boxes in front of him and then looked up at Justin. "How many of these per box?"

"You should be able to put four cookies into each favor box," Justin said, moving onto the next station. "Also, there are these [yellow bakery sheets](https://imgur.com/k43SE9m) to line the box with if you would, please. And then just stack them in a pile over here when you get them done."

"Not a problem," Todd smiled and began building boxes. "Fifty, right?"

"Yup," Justin nodded, opening up another box and setting it by the other trays of cookies. "Any leftovers we'll hold onto and serve at the shower. And Darren, if you wouldn't mind, I thought I'd have you work on the [You are My Sunshine cookies.](https://imgur.com/EuDGnbp) They go with these tent boxes and again, they should be wrapped with the yellow bakery sheets. Three to a box - one circle cookie, one rectangle with designs, and one with words in each, thanks."

"Of course," Darren nodded, taking the spot over for Justin. "Whatever you need; where would you like me to put them when they're done?"

"Just set them here, next to the ones that Todd is packing," Justin said as he rounded the table and went to the next work station. "Now, Em; did you want to pack the [key chains and wrist bands](https://imgur.com/qgaBWpd) or did you want to assemble the larger boxes?"

"I'll stick with the key chains and wrist bands as you seem to have an idea of how it's all packed up," Em said, walking over to Justin. "You wanted these in the yellow, scallop-edged boxes, right?"

"Yup" Justin nodded, walking to the final station which held the large favor boxes, a box of wine totes, a box of champagne bottles, a box of votive candles, a box of candle holders, and more yellow tissue paper in the same color as the wax paper. "I wish I could have found them in a brighter yellow like the rest, but what can you do?"

"You should have said something, Baby," Emmett chided, quickly putting together boxes and filling them with the ease of someone who'd done it hundreds of times before. "I could have talked to one of my vendors; I'm sure they could have done a special order."

"That's okay," Justin shrugged as he began building his boxes five at a time, first lining them with tissue paper; and then he pulled out the [lemon-print wine totes](https://imgur.com/FLN9Wz3) and folded them in half before laying them on the bottom of the box. "I just wanted to get it done without Brian having a heart attack. He was already grumbling this morning about it. Never mind the fact that I paid for it all with my own damn card."

"They always do, honey," Darren said, laughing as Justin huffed and Em and Todd tittered. "Men like Brian just don't see the point to all of our little rituals. They understand why we would want to make such a fuss and to thank the guests, who are coming to a party meant to celebrate you. Don't you remember what he was like with the wedding favors?"

"Yes; but I just want people to walk away with something more than a bag of Jordan almonds they'll never eat and little bottles of bubbles," Justin said, placing a half bottle of champagne on top of the wine tote. "Besides you know that Mr. Label Queen would have a shit fit if we ever did anything so traditional despite his complaints."

"Don't we ever," Todd snorted, pushing over his first pile of favor boxes.

"Actually, I'm surprised that you don't have Big Bad in here helping," Emmett said, building more boxes and setting them on the table. "How _did_ he manage to talk his way out of it?"

"Are you kidding?" Justin huffed, grabbing several [scented votive candles and placing one each into gold, metal lanterns with sun cut-outs](https://imgur.com/2F1ELRp) on them. And then he packed those beside the bottle of champagne. "I'd like to have these done sometime today. If Brian had been in here, he'd argue with me every step of the way and then I'd have to kill him. A dead baby daddy does me no good."

"Fair point," Emmett conceded, snickering as he set several completed boxes near Justin's station so that he could add them to his own favor boxes. "Does he even know what's going into them?"

"Nope," Justin said, popping the "P" on the end as he set one of the tent boxes of cookies next to the candle holder, added the box of Oreos in front of it and then one of  Emmett's boxes on top of that. "Well, other than the champagne bottles; the rest is a complete mystery to him as he said, and I quote, ' _Sunshine, if you wanted to fill them with pig shit, I couldn't care less as long as it doesn't come into my house_ ,' end quote."

"Lovely," Em said, wrinkling his nose with disgust.

"That's Brian for you," Justin shrugged as he dumped [ten miniature chocolate bars](https://imgur.com/TrnA5R5) into the box; and then he folded the tissue paper over it all and closed the boxes, setting them aside for their labels.

"He does have a unique way of expressing himself," Darren said, setting more boxes of cookies by Justin's station, just as Justin set five more favor boxes onto the table.

"So, I'm guessing that he's going to skip out on the shower altogether?" Todd asked curiously, pushing his finished favors in front of Justin and working on a new batch.

"Oh, hell no," Justin hissed, eliciting another round of laughter form the others. "Are you crazy? I'm not doing this by myself. I've already warned him of his expected attendance unless he wants to sleep in the guest room for the rest of the month. He'll be there if for no other reason than he'd go catatonic if he were deprived access to my ass."

"And that my dears," Emmett drawled, a knowing smirk on his lips. "Shows you just who holds the power in the relationship; it certainly isn't the top."

"Amen to that," Darren and Todd fervently replied at the same time; and then they looked at each other and laughed. Justin grinned, especially when Brian walked in, a suspicious look on his face when all of the others immediately burst out laugh once again. Well, what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him.


	63. March 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I wish I had a cool reason for missing my posting yesterday, but the truth is...I fell asleep. Yeah, I know. Sadly the night before I had only gotten about two hours of sleep and as a result, I barely made it through half of the vignette before passing out. So, two again today.

**March 2**

Brian stood back and admired his handiwork, sighing with relief that he was finally done with the project. And none too soon as Justin had started nosing around recently, wanting to know what he'd been working on out here in the stables. It had gotten to the point that Brian had to have the locks changed, otherwise the little twat would have figured it out and ruined the surprise. Sometimes Brian was certain that the saying 'curiosity killed the cat' was coined with Justin in mind as the brat just couldn't keep his nose out of trouble.

Standing up, Brian circled [the crib](https://imgur.com/8TQWHrg) and ran a hand over the stained and sealed wood checking for any rough spots or splinters. Although, there shouldn't be any given all the hours he'd spent stripping and sanding it down; but he didn't want to take any chances considering the precious cargo that it would hold eventually.

Smiling with satisfaction, he stood back and took [all three pieces of furniture](https://imgur.com/xeBWTIP) in – the aforementioned crib, a dresser and a changing table; proud that he hadn't lost his touch. You couldn't even tell that they'd once been baby pink rather than the lightly-stained oak that had been lying underneath all that hideous paint.

Looking up as someone came to stand at his side, he nodded to Carl and turned back to the baby furniture that would soon make its way up to the nursery that Justin was painting. He really couldn't wait to see it in the room; he definitely felt the natural finish was much more suiting to the room Justin was creating than the white paint that someone had originally suggested when they were looking at furniture.

"It looks good, kid," Carl praised, as he walked around the crib to inspect Brian's work; he whistled appreciatively as he ran his over the smooth finish. "You did a good job. Jen will be pleased when she sees it at the reveal."

Brian smirked and looked away, both uncomfortable, yet pleased with the compliment; although, he was more than happy to hear Carl's assessment of Jen's reaction, since she was the one who had given him the furniture. When Justin and he had been discussing what kind of furniture they wanted for Sunbeam's room, Jen had pulled him aside and offered up the furniture she'd used for both Justin and Molly; something that she'd stored away in the hope that one of them would use it for their own kids.

And after inspecting it, and noting that it was solid wood and in really good shape, if painted a hideous shade of pink; Brian decided to grab it, sand it down and refinish it as a shower gift for Justin. And looking at the results, he was happy that he'd done so.

"Deb and Vic taught me how to do this when I was younger," Brian explained, a soft smile on his lips as he thought of those long, summer days away from his childhood home. "They were always buying furniture at garage sales and secondhand stores; and then they'd bring them home, sand them down and re-stain or paint them. And every summer they'd put me in charge of a project; I think I refinished her buffet and hutch three times before I was out of college. She said it was because it got dinged or there was a rough patch; frankly, I think she was just trying to keep me off the streets."

He'd loved those times as a teen, and he'd been surprisingly good at it once they'd taught him the basics and he'd had some practice. In fact, when he'd first gotten his own place after college, before he'd had the money to purchase the loft, all of his furniture had been bought secondhand and refinished by him. No one had ever noticed however as he'd always had a good eye for quality and by the time he was done, his furniture looked as if it had been purchased in some of the best stores in Pittsburgh.

"More like she was trying to keep you out of the clubs," Carl snorted, shooting an amused look at Brian, who just rolled his lips between his lips and shrugged; it's not like he could deny it. Deb had always worried about his lifestyle choices back then.

That is, until Justin had sunk his claws into him and wouldn't let go; then she just sat back and laughed as Brian floundered, and fought it, until he couldn't deny his feelings any longer; and then she had the ill grace to laugh again and say, ' _I told you so_.'

Not that he blamed her; he supposed that he'd feel a bit smug too had the roles been reversed.

"That too," Brian smirked, picking up cloths and pieces of spent sand paper and tossing them into the trash. "I didn't think I'd be able to finish it all in time for the shower; with the way Justin's been nosing around and trying to get in, I've had to wait until he was gone, distracted by visitors or napping before I could get in here to work on it. It got to the point where I was begging anyone to get him out of my hair."

"Who'd you sacrifice this time?" Carl laughed, having run afoul of Justin's determination a time or two himself.

"Well, luckily, Emmett and some of the boys came over yesterday to work on the shower favors," Brian said, dusting off his hands and taking one last look around to make sure that everything was put away. "Emmett managed to stretch that out and then quickly distracted him with other chores for the shower; so, that kept Justin occupied for a few hours. And then today, I convinced Mother Taylor to drag him off for lunch and shopping with her and Molly. They actually should be returning any time now."

If he wasn't already home that is; the only problem with being in the stables was that it was far enough away from the drive that he couldn't hear when anyone drove up.

"Well, then, I'm going to head out," Carl said as he walked out the door and paused at the beginning of the path that lead to the front drive. "My being here will just spark his curiosity further and then you'll never keep him away."

"Christ, tell me about it," Brian groused, shutting the door and locking it so that his brat of a husband couldn't get in, and then followed Carl down the path. "I'm still trying to figure out when to move this stuff into the nursery; I might have to take the day before off and make Emmett drag him off for some last minute shower shopping just to get it done."

"Let me know when," Carl nodded as they stepped off the path and walked down the drive to his car. When they got there, Carl rounded it and unlocked it, opened the door and leaned against the top of it. "I'll come out with Deb; between her and Emmett, they'll keep him suitably distracted while you, Drew and I move the stuff in."

"I will," Brian nodded, watching as Carl slid into his car, still feeling just a bit wrong-footed with this man's obvious affection and respect for him; despite the number of years that Carl had been a part of his life, he still wasn't used to having what pretty much amounted to a father figure.

Oh, he'd had Vic, and he wasn't discounting Vic's place in his life at all. He had been a solid influence; but he'd also been more of an indulgent uncle than a true father figure; or maybe that had just been Michael's views tainting his own back then. But, whatever it had been, while Vic had always given him good advice, he'd never been that firm father figure that either of them needed either. He preferred the indulgent, ' _you will learn eventually_ ' mode of thinking; which certainly has its place, but not the best attitude to have with young teenagers.

Carl had been the first true father figure that he'd known, having no qualms whatsoever in telling Brian when he thought he was being an idiot. He'd bluntly, and on more than one occasion, warned him where his actions were leading, pointing out all the pros and cons; and _then_ left the decision in his hands.

"Later, kid," Carl called out and then closed the door, started his car and reversed, heading out towards the road.

Running a hand through his hair, Brian grimaced as he came away with a bit of sawdust and he didn't even want to think what else since it had once been an active stable. Turning on his heel, he walked into the house and up the stairs, intent on a shower to wash this shit off. Although, it was a damned shame that Justin wasn't there to help as shower sex had long been one of his favorite bathing activities.

But, if he was lucky, Justin would return soon and join him.

He quickly shed his clothing and tossed it into the hamper, before turning on the shower, adjusting the heat and stepping in. He quickly washed himself up, lingering for just a few minutes, hoping that Justin would show. But when it became obvious that he wasn't going to, he shut off the water and stepped out. Quickly rubbing himself down with a towel, Brian wrapped it around his waist and then took a second, smaller towel for his hair and strode into their walk-in closet.

He scrubbed the towel through his hair as he pulled a new pair of jeans and a long-sleeved, knit shirt off the shelf and then paused, perking his ears up. He waited a moment, swearing that he'd heard something in the room, but when Justin didn't come in, he shrugged it off and dressed. Then, as he was just pulling out a pair of socks from the drawer, he heard a small thump out in their bedroom, followed by a familiar voice cursing under his breath.

Striding out of the closet, Brian froze as soon as he entered the bedroom; because there, bent over at the waist, stood a nude from the waist down Justin, his ass fully on display. Licking his lips, Brian stood back to admire his husband's form, still as stunning as the first night he'd picked him up. God he was so beautiful it hurt sometimes. And he was so distracted that he didn't even notice what Justin was doing, or why he was bent over in the first place, until the item of clothing that Justin had been struggling with covered his ass and obstructed Brian's view.

And then he homed in on the fact that Justin was smoothing some sort of…well, what looked like pantyhose into place? Shaking his head, Brian stared for a moment longer trying to figure out what the hell his husband was up to this time before he finally gave up and asked, "What the hell are you wearing?"

Justin squawked and snapped up, his eyes going wide as spun around and stared at Brian, giving him a better look at the…well, the best way he could describe them was tights. Although, now that he had a full view, he could see that they weren't exactly pantyhose or tights as they were footless. Not that it prevented him from teasing Justin.

"Are those pantyhose?" he asked, a tongue-in-cheek smirk etched onto his face; Justin flushed, his cheeks turning a bright red at his question. And then he growled when Brian really hit it home with his next comment. "Don't tell me – this pregnancy has finally brought out your feminine side."

"They're compression tights, asshole," Justin huffed, glaring at a snickering Brian; he flipped Brian off for good measure. "And what are you doing in here? I thought you were in the stables like you have been every weekend for the past two months."

Well, that explained why Justin hadn't come to find him when he got home; not that he was going to let the brat manipulate him into changing the subject.

"I finished up about thirty minutes ago or so," Brian smirked, walking over to his husband; he circled him, wondering what the hell compression tights were supposed to be since they just looked like footless pantyhose to him. So, he just decided to ask. "What the hell are compression tights?"

"It's some sort of specialty support hose that you wear while pregnant for extra support," Justin huffed again, staring down at the tights with an annoyed expression. "It's supposed to help with tired legs and varicose veins, or something like that." Justin paused to glower at Brian, who was still snickering at his obvious discomfort. "I don't know. Mom bought them for me."

And that made little sense to Brian; not the support part, because he got that, but the varicose veins bit really didn't apply in this situation. He knew Justin's body, as well as his unblemished skin, intimately and knew that he had no need for this item of clothing.

"What varicose veins?" Brian asked, staring at Justin's covered legs, his brow pinched in confusion; and then it smoothed out as while he didn't think that Justin needed the tights, they made for a hell of a view. And Brian couldn't help being fully appreciative of them and admiring the way they clung to Justin like a second skin.

He licked his lips again and wondered how long it would take for him to peel those god awful tights off his husband's very delectable body. He really needed to test that out.

"Right!?" Justin huffed, running his hands over his legs, further distracting Brian. "That's exactly what I said. But Mom said that ' _just because you can't see them, doesn't mean they aren't there; and if they aren't, it doesn't mean you won't eventually get them_.' And then she paid for them and stuffed them into one of my bags."

"And you're wearing them, because…?" Brian asked; because he really did want know why on Earth Justin would ever feel the need.

"Curiosity?" Justin said, shrugging his shoulders as if that were a perfectly reasonable answer for putting on an item of clothing that closely resembled women's lingerie. And for Justin, it probably was. As he said before, the expression 'curiosity killed the cat,' had definitely been coined with Justin in mind. "I just wondered how comfortable they would be and if they actually do anything to support the pregnancy."

"Interesting," Brian hummed, stepping into his husband's body, molding his front to Justin's back as he slid his hands over his belly to his hips; this definitely needed a closer inspection. He smoothed his hands over Justin's thighs, his dick instantly hardening in a way he hadn't expected at the silky texture under his fingertips.

"What are you doing?" Justin asked, his voice a little breathless as Brian continued his explorations.

"I'm just taking a closer look to admire your newest item of clothing," Brian said, pressing his hardening dick into the curve of Justin's ass. He slid a hand up to cup Justin's growing erection and gently squeezed, drawing a small gasp from Justin's lips.

"What are you…" Justin started to ask again and trailed off as Brian started to peel the tights over his baby bump, so that he had more skin to touch, but it wasn't enough. It never was when it came to Justin. He spun Justin around, picked him up, and carried him to the bed, dumping him on the edge. "I thought you didn't like this kind of thing? All of your tricks in the past were more along the lines of gym bunnies rather than queens."

The question was rhetorical; and it was true that he'd often been more attracted to the hard, well-built type that looked as if they'd spent their lives in a gym. Justin had been an exception to that rule being much shorter, blonder, and thinner than his usual type. But then again, Justin had always been the exception to _all_ his rules. Maybe that was what had him coming back to Justin again and again in the beginning.

"I don't," Brian agreed as he tried to peel the tights over Justin's legs; but it wasn't as easy as he thought it was going to be as the fucking things clung, leaving him to tug at them, and nearly ripping them in the process. "But I do like you; and frankly, your near naked ass is all that I need to get interested."

"Brian!" Justin squealed, laughing as he looked up into Brian's, likely red and frustrated face, but doing absolutely fuck all to help Brian with said removal of the tights. "Stop! You're going to tear them!"

"So, I'll buy you some new ones," Brian huffed, and then let out a triumphant cry when he finally managed to yank the tights from his husband's body. He tossed them over his shoulder and leered down at Justin, a lascivious smirk on his face. "For now, I have more important things to do."

"Oh?" Justin asked as he coyly peered at Brian from beneath his lashes. "And just what would that be, Mr. Taylor-Kinney?"

"A thorough inspection of your body," Brian smirked, pausing to lick a long, wet strip up his husband's stiff cock and swirling his tongue over the head as Justin cried out beneath him. And then he slid up his body to drop a kiss on Justin's parted mouth as he whispered. "You know, just to be sure there aren't any of those varicose veins your mother was talking about."


	64. March 3

**March 3**

Justin sighed in frustration as he looked at yet another infuriating e-mail from his mother, who was oh-so-helpfully suggesting another name for the baby. This was actually becoming an irritatingly regular thing ever since that lunch they'd had at Deb's a little over a week ago; and his mother wasn't the only culprit. It seemed that whenever he saw his friends or family these days, they were full of naming conventions and suggestions and shared them until Justin wanted to scream.

Like this e-mail; his mother sent it to him as a 'reminder' of what they'd discussed at lunch yesterday when she and Molly dragged him out to go maternity clothing shopping (again) and bought him those ridiculous tights. Not that he was complaining about those much now as it had led to a rather fun, fast and furious fucking session with Brian, who'd gotten turned on by them.

And hadn't that been a surprise, considering that he knows that femininity isn't typically something that turns Brian on. He's well aware that, with his twink-like physique, he really didn't fit the mold of Brian's usual type. And Brian, still to this day, can't really pin down what exactly had made him stop when he'd seen Justin. Oh, he doesn't deny that Justin was then, and still is, a beautiful man, (his words); but Justin just seemed to be the complete opposite of what Brian usually looked for in a trick.

But he was getting off track; his mother seemed to be on a mission yesterday, talking up all of the family names and their meanings and how they'd been handed down through the generations and all that. And while Justin got it, that this kind of naming convention was tradition on his mother's side of the family, he just didn't want to be held to them. And while he loved that he was named after his grandfathers, he really wanted to give the baby a name that was unique to them.

Plus, he and Brian were quite capable of coming up with a name on their own, thank you very much. He didn't need them to 'help,' if you could call it that.

But that did lead to a problem; and one he hoped to solve today, so that people would leave him the fuck alone and he could focus on other more pressing matters. Pulling up his e-mail account, he hit the compose button and set immediately to work.

 

**_From:_ ** _Justin Taylor-Kinney_

**_To:_ ** _ Family All _ _;_ _ The Gang _

**_Cc:_ ** _Brian Taylor-Kinney (work); Brian Taylor-Kinney (personal)_

**_Subject:_ ** _Baby Names_

_So, it's come to my attention, (and really how could I not notice with the way some of you have been bludgeoning me over the head with it; no names, you know who you are), that there is some interest in what we are naming the baby. As I have said before, we have been keeping our choices under wraps for several reasons; but the most important of those being that it would disclose the gender and that is so not going to happen no matter how hard any of you try to get us to slip up. Nice try guys.  
_

_Besides, if we were to disclose it, then Deb would have to stop the betting pool at the diner and we wouldn't want that. (Yes, Deb, we have always been fully aware that you were behind the pool; shame on you. ;))_

_So, to keep the lot of you from tracking me down, just to tell me of this really *insert adjective here* name you heard; and you just wanted us to know about it because was just so *insert adjective here*, I'm going to make a one time offer and then I never want to hear about it again, if you please._

_Starting now, you have until the baby shower, March 22, to either e-mail me or physically hand me a list of name suggestions for Sunbeam. And we will take these suggestions into consideration when we come up with a names. Keep in mind that we prefer gender neutral names over ones that are obviously intended for a particular gender._

_Please also note that any obvious name suggestions from popular movies, books, TV shows and/or comics will be completely disregarded and you risk the entire list getting tossed due to suspicions that you are trying to name our kid after a favorite character. (Looking at you Em; seriously, Katniss? I may not have read the books or watched the movies, but I do know who that is. I can't believe you thought you could sneak that by me.)_

_So, in recap – a list of names to me by March 22, and your silence there after, or I will not be held accountable for what I do. I have more important things to worry about than to have you all bombard me with names every time I see you._

_~ Justin_

 

Justin read the e-mail a couple of times; and then, satisfied with the message, he clicked the send button and just waited for the immanent Kinney queen out. Because he knew that in about five minutes he was going to be getting a call from Brian asking him what the hell he'd been thinking. Unless he was in a meeting. And then it would take him about five minutes after that to call him and ask him what the hell he'd been thinking.

Out of curiosity, and a little bit of boredom, Justin watched the clock, counting down the minutes; and sure enough, a little over four and a half minutes later, his cell phone lit up and peeled Brian's ring tone. Did he even realize how predictable that he was at times? Maybe he should tell him. On second thought, maybe he should keep that to himself for the time being as it made his life easier.

He picked up the phone and punched the accept button.

"Justin Taylor-Kinney speaking," He greeted, as if he didn't know just who was on the other side of the phone and why he was calling.

What fun was it if he let the cat out of the bag early?

"What the hell is this shit?" Brian demanded; that was it, no greeting, no ' _hey honey, how is your day going?_ ' Just a demand for information. He was so going to enjoy this.

"What the hell is what shit?" Justin asked, playing dumb just because he could. Plus it annoyed Brian; and as he's said before, an annoyed, worked up Brian is a fun Brian.

"The e-mail, Justin," Brian clarified, although his exasperated tone told Justin that Brain was well aware of the game he was playing. "Why are you giving our friends and family the option of helping us name _**OUR**_ kid? Need I remind you of the Abraham and the Jenny Rebecca debacles?"

"I figured we could use some more kindling for the fire?" Justin asked, completely throwing Brian for a loop with that one.

"What?" Brian asked; and this time he sounded genuinely confused by the answer. It was good that he couldn't always predict Justin's reasoning; he had more fun this way.

"Look, I'm not actually going to take any of their suggestions seriously," Justin said, and then paused because that came out wrong to his ears; so, he explained further. "I'm planning to look them over; and _if_ they have some nice suggestions that fit with the naming convention that we've decided on, then I'll add them to the list. But it's not something I'm expecting to change our minds one way or the other."

"Then why are you doing this?" Brian asked; and Justin didn't blame him for being confused, but he did have a very good reason for doing it – namely keeping his sanity.

"Self-preservation," Justin said, rolling his eyes when an e-mail arrived from his mother; seriously, he got that she was excited about the birth of her first blood-related grandchild, but didn't she have a job and other things to do other than to annoy him?

"Self-preservation?" Brian stated slowly; and Justin could just picture him, sitting at his desk, pinching the bridge of his nose as he prayed for patience.

Like he said, predictable.

"I am sick of people prying into our business, wanting to find out what names we've decided on," Justin explained, his annoyance bleeding through as he clicked on the email his mother had sent him; this time it was something to do with birth classes. "Or worse, every time I see them – and this is especially true with Lindsay – they have all these helpful suggestions for a name. If I do it this way, they will feel like they are contributing, but they will then, hopefully, leave me in peace."

Brian just laughed at that; and really, he would, as he wasn't the one dealing with this bullshit as their friends and family tended to stay away from Brian when it came to all things baby. He really wanted to know why they thought that _he_ was the nicer, more sympathetic one as he'd thought he'd demonstrated time and again that it wasn't the case.

"My little genius," Brian said fondly, obviously finally seeing reason to Justin's grand plan; as he should. "Just promise me that you won't let them badger you into any of those names no matter the reasons behind it."

"Please," Justin snorted, clicking on an e-mail from Lucille Brown and chuckling at her quip of, ' _I've always been partial to the name Lucille; it's very dignified, don't you think?_ ' Justin shook his head and clicked on the email to respond. "If I haven't allowed them to guilt me yet; even when I've been a hormonal mess due to this pregnancy, I doubt it's going to happen now."

"You say that now," Brian warned; and Justin could just see him rolling his eyes at those words. "But you haven't heard the epic sob story that Deb can build up over her favorite cousin, or aunt, or dog, or whatever the fuck it was, Matilda. And that is a whole world of no, Sunshine; just no."

"Yeah, that is so not happening," Justin said, rolling his eyes when a message from Lindsay popped up; he couldn't wait to see that one. He was certain that she would tell him the perfect way to choose a name based on the projected birth sign, season and the phase of the moon or some other Earth Mother bullshit. Because it couldn't possibly just be that they liked the name or some mundane reason like that. "Don't worry, you will hold ultimate veto power."

"Great," Brian grumbled, making Justin laugh. "Make me the bad guy. I can just hear Deb now. ' _I had Sunshine all convinced that Matilda was a beautiful name and then that asshole came along and ruined it for me._ ' Thanks a lot, Sunshine."

"Anytime, snookems," Justin snickered, ignoring Lindsay's latest book on how to raise a child in favor of snarking back and forth with Lucille. "At least it isn't Adelbert."

"Jesus Fucking Christ, Sunshine," Brian huffed, making Justin cackle with laughter once again. "I'm getting off the phone before you tell me that you finally drank the Kool-Aid and bought into Lindsay's Earth Mother crap about constellations and moon phases."

Huh, guess he got that email too.

"She _is_ the fount of all baby knowledge," Justin stated solemnly, drawing a chuckle from Brian. "Yeah, I have to go and actually do some work in the studio now that I don't have everyone calling me for ridiculous shit. Later."

"Later," Brian replied, and then hung up the phone.

Justin sighed and looked at his computer and his phone, and then typed a quick message to Brian, letting him know that he was going to be incommunicado; and that if he absolutely needed him, to call the house phone and have Anna come pry him out of the studio. And then he shut down the computer and turned off his cell; he was so done dealing with this shit today.


	65. March 4

**March 4**

Brian took one last look at himself in the mirror and then walked out of the closet and into the bedroom, surprised when he didn't find a familiar blond lump still curled up in their bed. Grabbing his jacket, he walked out the door and quickly made his way down the stairs; he strode into the living room, and looked around, but his husband was still nowhere to be found. Something he found odd as Justin was violently against mornings if he could help it. Especially since he'd gotten pregnant.

In fact, the only thing that had any hope of prying him from their bed until he was good and ready, was if he'd been struck by a sudden wave of inspiration, sending him running for his studio. But Brian knew that wasn't it, as he'd definitely noted that the studio door had been open as he came down the stairs.

Dropping his jacket on the back of the chair nearest the foyer, right next to his briefcase, Brian walked towards the kitchen; knowing that, if nothing else, if Justin couldn't be found in their bed or his studio, he was definitely raiding the fridge or cupboards. He hoped. Because, to be honest, if Justin wasn't in there eating, he would actually start to worry at that point. Justin being out of bed for art or food was expected; Justin willingly climbing out of bed on a morning off for no good reason, not so much.

"Good morning, Anna," Brian greeted as he walked through the door, smirking when he spied Justin sitting at the table, his back to him, with an impressive case of bed-head. He absently dropped a kiss on the top of Justin's head as he walked to the coffee machine. "Sunshine, you're up early. I thought you were supposed to have a nice, quiet sleep-in this morning. Or, at least, that's what you were bragging about last night."

"Yeah, well," Justin huffed, leaning heavily against the table, more asleep than he was awake at that point. "Your child had other ideas this morning. Apparently, Sunbeam has decided that my bladder is a trampoline again, and I had to race to the bathroom before I embarrassed myself. Fuck; I'll be so glad when this is over, so that my internal organs don't feel like they are just one big bruise."

" _My_ child?" Brian chuckled as he poured himself a cup of coffee and added an obscene amount of sugar in it; he nodded to Anna as she set his typical breakfast of dry whole-grain toast and fruit on the table and then walked over and sat down. "Why is Sunbeam always _my_ child at times like this?"

"Because obviously you are the evil one of our partnership," Justin grumbled, taking a huge bite of his breakfast; and then he smirked, a wicked glint in his eyes. "Whereas I am the angel. Everyone says so."

Brian snorted, rolling his eyes because they really did think that Justin was the nice one; if they only knew. He looked up and shot his husband an incredulous look, freezing, his coffee mug halfway to his mouth, as he finally noticed just what Justin had been eating for breakfast. Setting his mug down, he closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, fervently praying that he wasn't actually seeing what he thought he saw.

But when he opened his eyes again, the scene before him was exactly the same – Justin was sitting there, blissfully eating something that could only be classified as a [_dessert_](https://imgur.com/cDmNujI), not breakfast. The first layer in the glass looked like it was some sort of yogurt or pudding, which was then followed by a layer of Twinkies, cut into chunks. (And he really hoped that those were the pseudo-Twinkies that he'd bought or he and Justin would be having a very long 'discussion' about that.)

The layer of Twinkies was followed by a layer of bananas, and then that was topped with yet more pudding or yogurt; more Twinkie chunks were added on top, followed by more bananas, another layer of pudding or yogurt; and then, finally, it was all topped with a layer of whipped cream. Brian shuddered at the amount of sugar and fat loaded into one container; and then, once again, prayed for strength.

Not that his husband noticed; Justin was happily humming to himself and digging in as if he hadn't a care in the world. Brian cleared his throat and continued to stare at his husband until, finally, Justin managed to pry himself away from his 'breakfast' and looked up at him with a curious expression on his face.

"Please, tell me you aren't eating that shit for breakfast," Brian groused, staring at the concoction with thinly veiled disgust. Justin paused to look at him funny and then rolled his eyes and defiantly took another bite; just to demonstrate that he was a stubborn brat.

"I'm not eating shit for breakfast," Justin said dutifully, after he finished said bite. And then he smiled that, ' _why, yes, I am a little shit'_ grin of his; the one that brought Brian _this close_ to throttling his husband most days. It was only love that kept Justin alive on those days.

"That's not what I meant; and you well know it, brat," Brian said in an aggrieved tone, his lips compressing when Justin just shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, ask a stupid question…" Justin said, purposely trailing off as he arched a brow; and then he started explaining as if he were talking to a small child. And really, he was just asking to get spanked at this point. "I mean it _is_ morning, and it _is_ the first meal of the day; so, one could easily deduce that I am indeed eating this shit for breakfast."

"Fucking smart ass," Brian griped, scrubbing a hand over his face; he continued to stare at the trifle or parfait, or whatever-the-fuck Justin wanted to call it, his lip curled in distaste. "The real question is – _why_ are you eating them for breakfast?"

"Because I want to?" Justin asked rhetorically, giving another nonchalant shrug of his shoulders. Brian frowned. "Plus, the last time I talked to Liz, she said that I should add more grains and legumes to my diet."

Brian paused and took a couple bites of his fruit and toast as he tried to figure out what that had to do with anything. He took a long drag of his coffee as Justin just stared at him and continued eating his treat.

Alright; he'd bite.

"Yes, I'm well aware of that fact," Brian said slowly, not quite getting where Justin was going with this; but he had to have thought this out beforehand, because as smart as the little twat is, he's not nearly coherent enough in the morning to make up an elaborate excuse on the fly. Which just meant that this was likely to try Brian's patience. "I _was_ at that appointment with you as you recall; you know since you nearly gave me a heart attack b.y making me believe  we were having triplets for a moment."

Justin smirked, still far too pleased with himself over that prank; and likely feeling far too confident that he'd gotten away with it as Brian hadn't retaliated yet. But he would; all in good time.

"Well, that's what I'm doing," Justin continued primly, a virtuous smile on his face. Brian snorted, because like hell was he falling for that nonsense. He knew Justin far better than that. So, he narrowed his eyes, just waiting for the other shoe to drop. "I'm just following the doctor's orders."

Brian internally sighed and  fought back a twitch in his jaw; barely. There was no way he was going to give the little twat the satisfaction of seeing him react to that statement if he could help it. But he must not have quelled it fast enough as Justin just smiled smugly in return. Brian rolled his lips between his teeth and wondered where the brat was taking this.

"And how, pray tell, are you doing that?" Brian asked; he leaned back into his chair and studied the smirking brat in front of him, just knowing that he was likely going to regret asking, but was curious nonetheless.

"Well," Justin said, going into what Brian had fondly dubbed 'professor mode.' Something he'd often employed when he'd walked around as a teenager, spouting off random facts, and acting like Brian's own walking public service announcement. "Wheat is a grain is it not?"

"Yes," Brian drawled, suddenly getting the bad feeling that he knew _exactly_ where the little twat was going with this; and he had to give him credit for trying to con his way out of it this way. Too bad he hadn't paid full attention to what Liz had told the both of them.

"That gets ground into flour, right?" Justin continued, his eyes twinkling with mischief; he took a large bite of the parfait and hummed in delight. Brian just shook his head at his husband's audacity.

"I know I'm going to regret saying this, but yes," Brian huffed; and yes, this is exactly where he thought the little brat was going. He picked at his fruit, eating as Justin dug himself in deeper, one eye on the clock so he remembered to leave on time.

"And flour is then used to make cake," Justin finished, looking quite proud of himself and his explanation. "Ergo, I'm eating more grains."

Brian snorted, and almost wanted to applaud at that load of bullshit; but he refrained because there was no need to encourage the brat.

Plus, he hadn't covered all his tracks; there was one glaring flaw in his argument – Liz had specifically said that he needed to incorporate more _whole_ grains and legumes into his diet. Not just any kind of bread product that he wanted;, but whole grains. Although, he probably hadn't expected Brian to remember that fact as Brian had been far too busy trying to get his heart rate under control after the little twat's prank.

"Right," Brian nodded, a bemused smile on his face. He took a long sip of his cooling coffee and then took a bite of his toast, letting Justin prattle on as if he believed him.

"She never specified what form my grains or legumes had to come in," Justin said, all wide-eyed innocence as he continued to wolf down his 'breakfast.' Brian caught Anna's eye, who was standing behind Justin with a plate of fruit, whole-grain toast and a soft-boiled egg and a glass of milk, desperately trying not to laugh.

Brian turned back to his husband, and finished his toast in two bites; he dusted his hands off and then quickly ate the last two pieces of melon and drank the rest of his coffee, all while eyeing Justin with amusement. Wiping his mouth with a napkin, he stood, stacked his dishes and set them in the sink.

It was time to take a pin to his scheming, brat of a husband's balloon.

"Sure, Sunshine; makes perfect sense," Brian nodded, smirking when Justin first looked at him in total surprise as he'd obviously been expecting a different answer; and then he narrowed his eyes, as if he sensed that there was more to that statement coming, which there was. "I tell you what; let's call Liz right now and ask her if Twinkies are on the acceptable grains list; and if she says yes, I'll fully support this madness."

And that right there, that was calling his husband's bluff; which he knew.

Justin scowled and huffed, and then he grumbled under his breath about ' _annoying husband's that just had to be controlling bastards and ruin all his fun_.' Brian snickered, especially when Anna dropped the prepared plate of food and glass of milk in front of Justin without a word, making his scowl darken. He walked over, stood next to Justin, and waited until his husband looked up.

"I didn't think so," Brian smirked, dropping a kiss onto his forehead. Justin just huffed, a pout firmly etched on to his lips. "But nice try, Sunshine; now be a good boy and eat all your food so our Sunbeam grows up nice and tall instead of being a midget like you."

Justin squawked and lashed out, but his hand met nothing but air as Brian laughed and dodged quickly out the door. He will say one thing about living with Justin – there was never a dull moment when he was around.


	66. March 5

**March 5 – (26 weeks)**

"So," Mel said, looking at Justin and relaxing back into her seat, enjoying the relatively calmness of her day for once. "What were you reading when we came in?"

Mel nodded her head towards the thick packet of papers that Justin had been shuffling through when she, Ted and Blake had descended onto the booth that he'd taken up residence in. She hadn't even realized that they would be meeting up with Justin that afternoon when Ted and Blake had come to her office and all but dragged her out of it, with her weakly protesting the entire way.

As the newest lawyer at the firm, Mel was always working ridiculous hours, trying to prove that she was worth the faith that they'd placed in her despite the short time that she'd been there. The only time that she wasn't working these days was in the late evenings and on the weekends when she made time for Gus and Jenny. But even then, she'd often bring home work to do for after they went to bed; she just couldn't afford to slack off if she wanted that coveted junior partner spot.

Plus, it also meant that she could avoid Lindsay and her over the top interest in Justin's pregnancy; something that she still didn't understand. She knew that Lindsay had always had a bit of a soft spot for Justin, likely seeing and noting the similarities between the two of them; hell, Mel loved him nearly as much just for being one of the few people to knock Brian Kinney on his ass with a few well chosen words.

But lately, her interest in him and his career had taken an odd turn, most notably around the times that Justin and Brian were planning their first wedding; and then again when he came home and they planned their second. She'd done a complete one-eighty both times, going from supporting the relationship between them to telling Brian that he was holding Justin back from achieving his goals. And Mel had agreed with her that first time; but now, she wondered what the hell that had all been about since it was obvious that Lindsay had expected Justin to break off with Brian and stay in New York for some reason.

Something that had not happened much to Lindsay's aggravation.

And Mel couldn't explain why; even she'd known that eventually the two of them would find their way back to each other; and she didn't profess to know or love Brian or Justin in the same way that Lindsay always had.

Shaking herself out of her thoughts, she smiled at Justin, who was still holding up a single finger as he finished chewing, marveling at how good it felt to just be with her friends again. She was really glad that Blake and Ted had dragged her out of the office now. It'd been a long time since she'd just simply sat down and enjoyed the company of people that she liked and admired without having to be extra careful of every little thing she said or did.

"It was just an article about natural birth vs. medicated birth," Justin said once he'd swallowed his food.

He grimaced when Mel raised her brows in surprise. Last she heard, Justin had been pretty well set on his birth plan and wasn't about to budge no matter what other people said about it. (And good for him; she'd gone that route too and she didn't regret it one bit.) So, that he was potentially thinking of changing it up now was surprising to say the least.

"Don't get me wrong, I haven't changed my mind on being medicated despite Lindsay waxing poetic about natural birth," he continued, rolling his eyes as he did.

Mel huffed and didn't blame him one bit; even she'd nearly lost her patience with Lindsay's pontificating over the ' _spiritual and life-enhancing nature of natural birth_.' Spiritual and life-enhancing her ass; did Lindsay really forget that Mel had been present for the entire birth and recalled every scream, cry and nasty thing she'd said during it? Please, sister. She still couldn't believe that Lindsay had even had the audacity to go there.

"It was just an interesting comparison by someone who'd gone through both and I was curious as to what she thought on it," Justin said, shrugging as he popped a piece of broccoli in his mouth; his only nod to eating something of nutritious worth.

And even then, it had been at Deb's behest, with her staring him down until he'd sighed and actually began grudgingly eating it. Likely, because Brian had given her strict instructions to make sure that Justin ate something other than grease.

"I do acknowledge that Linds said it was a wonderful experience, but…" Justin sent an apologetic look her way, but Mel just held up a hand and cut him off. There was no need for him to apologize for doing it the way he wanted.

"Oh, Baby; don't let her kid you," Mel smirked, drawing the attention of everyone at the table. "Linds was nowhere near as serene as she claimed to be. I find it amusing that she conveniently forgot screaming for drugs at the last minute; and then being an utter bitch to the nurse when she was told it was too late."

"So, she didn't opt for a natural birth?" Justin asked, his brow furrowed with confusion.

"Oh, she did," Mel said, rolling her eyes as she remembered the conversations she'd had with her wife on this subject. "Went on and on about what a natural process it was to give birth and how she wanted to feel in touch with her body, as well as she didn't want to be confined to a bed while it was happening. Which is all very valid, don't get me wrong."

Justin's eyebrows rose into his hairline; he rolled his lips between his teeth, in that way he always did when he was desperately trying not to comment, and instead made a noncommittal sound of curiosity.

"But it was nowhere near the transcendent, spiritual experience that she made it out to be." Mel huffed, shaking her head at the things Lindsay was saying that day in an effort to persuade Justin to her way of  thinking; how quickly one tends to forget reality when they are viewing the world through slightly smudged, rose-colored glasses.

"I'd have a hard time believing that it was," Blake piped from where he'd been feeding Luc his bottle. "My contractions never reached the excruciating pain that others talk about, but it still hurt like fuck and I was still threatening to cut off Ted's balls if he ever came near me again."

"I thought you were going to do the epidural route?" Justin asked, staring at the other man with no little amount of confusion.

Mel couldn't comment on that for herself as, although she and Ted were still close friends, she and Blake didn't know each other as well. She did find the friendship between the two youngest members of their group interesting and telling however. She could easily see how they'd become close due to being outsiders of the original group at one time and having partners with a significant age difference between them.

"It never got to the point where I thought I needed it," Blake shrugged; and Mel had heard about the way Blake had barely even flinched at his contractions in the beginning. The lucky bastard; she wished that it had been that easy for her. "Maybe I just have a high pain tolerance? But I had the doctor prepare one just in case I needed it. I just never reached that point where I couldn't take the pain anymore."

"I _wish_ she would have gone that route," Mel muttered mostly to herself, garnering the others attention once more, and snickering as they were all practically salivating at the hint of gossip. Fucking queer men…they were worse gossips than women sometimes.

"Do tell…" Justin drawled, sniggering and ginning unrepentantly when Mel arched a brow at his obvious digging for fresh dirt on Lindsay; and really, Mel shouldn't say anything as this was her wife, but lately, she'd been having doubts on Lindsay's intentions when it came to Justin and she didn't like that feeling at all.

"Yes, speak slowly and enunciate," Ted quipped, a sly grin on his face.

And then, for some reason unbeknownst to Mel, Justin threw his head back and laughed at that comment, while Blake huffed and smacked Ted on the arm, shaking his head when Ted just smirked.

"You're terrible," Blake huffed, rolling his eyes as he set the bottle aside and lifted Luc onto his shoulder to burp him.

"I'm guessing that's an inside joke?" Mel asked, looking between the three of them; the all flushed guiltily and shared a knowing look between them, so Mel figured she'd hit the nail on the head with her assessment.

"Sorry," Justin said, always the first to apologize; he screwed his face up into a sheepish moue and shrugged. "It's more that you had to be there."

"Just one of those charming times that Brian was demonstrating his non-jealousy over Justin," Blake smirked, sending the other two into more laughter. "He _really_ wasn't happy that morning; not at all. Well, he wasn't until you showed up and you had your little tête-à-tête or whatever the that was. And then, suddenly, everything was right in the world again."

"I beg to differ," Justin groused, absentmindedly rubbing his ass. "When I got back to the loft that night, he made sure I knew just how pleased he'd been by my performance. He wasn't nearly as cool about it as you'd think."

Mel caught on at that point, vaguely remembering Ted telling her this story a few years back. She'd laughed her ass off knowing that the Great Kinney had had his ass handed to him by the sweet little twink he had been taking for granted.

"King of Babylon?" Mel asked, arching a brow and nodding when they all just grinned.

"That would be it," Ted snickered; and Mel knew that for all that they were friends now; Ted had enjoyed Brian's comeuppance just as much as she had back then. "But we're getting off track; I want to hear about Lindsay's labor meltdown."

"Well, I wouldn't call it a meltdown," Mel said, not wanting to make more of it than it was. "But she was definitely screaming for drugs by the time she crowned; something she conveniently forgets; she chooses to focus on the natural part of it, rather than the fact she became a raving bitch."

Justin rolled his eyes again, but said nothing; and, again, Mel didn't blame him after what happened nearly two weeks ago.

"And then, when she finally gave in and demanded them, and she was told that it was too late to do it," Mel grimaced. God, she'd wanted to smack Lindsay herself for her attitude that night. Yes, she got it; she was in pain. But to treat people like they were less than you because you weren't getting your way was wrong. "Well, she grew really nasty. I was actually embarrassed _for_ her; that was when I started trying to call Brian because I was so done with her attitude."

"Should have known better," Ted snickered, popping a fry in his mouth and chewing. "Everyone knows the King ignored his phone when he was out sucking and fucking." Ted paused and flicked an apologetic look over at Justin. "Well, retired King now."

"Oh no," Justin disagreed, not at all put out by Ted's words; and Mel supposed that he would need to have a thick skin after being around and dealing with Brian and his former reputation every day. "He's still the uncontested King; I know that. It's just the the Stud title that he's retired from these days."

"Ah," Mel said; and well, that made sense. Kinney was still a bit of a God around these parts and the Avenue did go out of their way to protect him and his Prince, as they referred to Justin. "Well, at least one good thing came from his sucking and fucking that night; it brought you into our lives, Baby."

"And he thought he'd get rid of me," Justin smirked, looking far too smug for his own good. But, when you've tamed the untamable, you were allowed to be smug. "I knew the morning after that I was different just by the way Michael was acting; he asked Brian didn't he get enough yet, and Brian just smirked and said that there was never enough."

"I've never heard that part of the story," Ted said, perking up with interest; and Jesus, the man was a worse gossip than Emmett was at times.

"Don't tell him I told you though," Justin said in a hushed voice, wrinkling his nose. "He likes to pretend that he was talking about sex in general and not about me in particular. But, it's kind of hard not to realize I was different even then, because I'd heard how he treated his usual tricks – throwing their clothing at them and kicking them to the curb before the sweat has even dried on their body. Whereas with me, he showered with me and then was helping me to dress when Mikey walked in."

"I bet he loved that," Mel said, rolling her eyes; she'd never understood Michael's absolute dislike for Justin.

Yes, she knew that he'd had feelings for Brian; and Brian may have kept him on a bit of a leash, but anyone with a brain could have seen that Michael just didn't have what it took to keep Brian's interest. Kinney needed someone to challenge him; to stand up to him and tell him when he was being an ass. That was never going to be Michael; and taking it out on Justin wasn't going to change the fact that if Brian hadn't fucked Michael by then, even before Justin had been in the picture, it just wasn't going to happen at all.

"Foaming at the mouth doesn't even begin to describe his reaction." Justin snorted, shaking his head in disgust.

And again, they all shared a look between them that spoke of years of friendship and knowing each other in ways that others could only hope. And it made her a little sad. She wished that she could share in that closeness; but she'd lost that when they'd decided to move to Canada, separating themselves from their Pittsburgh family. It was one of her very few regrets with the move.

"Well, as enlightening as this is," Ted said, turning back to Mel with a wicked gleam in his eyes. "I want the dirt on Miss Prim and Proper. So, she turned nasty did she?"

"Oh, yes," Mel said, saying to hell with it; maybe it was time to start obtaining that closeness that all the boys seemed to share and that she envied. "I could tell that the nurses were ready to knock her out if it got her to shut up. And the mouth on that woman… refined and serene it was not. She could have given Brian a run for his money when it came down to the sheer foulness of her language."

"And to think," Ted drawled, a mocking lilt in his voice. "You'd think that butter wouldn't melt in her mouth."

"Actually, I'm not surprised at all," Justin huffed, stabbing at his remaining piece of broccoli and pointing with it. "She always seemed to bite her tongue on the things she wanted to say; and much more often than anybody realized; _especially_ when things weren't going her way."

"You mean," Mel said, a knowing smile on her lips; and now it was time to do a little digging of her own. "Like when you announced that you were coming home after three years, rather than staying in New York to pursue ' _your_ ' dream?"

Because she knew exactly what Justin was talking about; Brian and the others were blind to it, having been around Lindsay for far too long not to be snowed by her act. But Mel, knowing her better than others, and Justin, all too aware of the games his set liked to play, knew better than to take what she said at face value. Something that was evident when Justin met her smile with one of his own.

"Exactly like that," Justin nodded; and then his expression grew pensive as he looked away from Mel. "Although, that wasn't, and still isn't, my biggest gripe with her."

And that was something else that she knew; or at least she'd thought she did.

"I know, Baby," Mel said, sighing and feeling a bit guilty in the part she'd played that had Justin and Brian together, but separated for nearly three years as Justin pursued his art. "She shouldn't have gone behind your back and manipulated Brian that way."

Mel bit her lip, and then dug down deep and finally said all the things that she should have said years ago; she'd had no right sticking her nose into Brian and Justin's business. And she was ashamed to this day that her actions had derailed a marriage that, while they now say that neither of them was ready for at the time, was still something that they'd both wanted.

"I know that I wasn't much better then," she said, shifting uncomfortably in her seat. "And I'm sorry for that." She paused and considered her words. "Lindsay should have stayed out of it. That she went behind your back and had, not only manipulated him into shoving you off that infamous Kinney Cliff in the first place; but then she even went to hims and tried to guilt him into telling you to stay in New York, was disrespectful to you. Well, it was disrespectful to both of you; but especially you, as she treated you like a child that didn't know his own mind. And I'm sorry for my part in it and for not telling her to butt out much sooner."

"There is that," Justin said in a neutral tone, his face unreadable for the most part; but there was something – maybe it was a glimmer in his eyes – that told her there was something more going on here. And it also made her realize that maybe she didn't know what upset Justin the most about this situation.

So, she took a stab in the dark and hazarded a guess.

"There's more," Mel said, her eyes narrowing as Justin looked away; his silence was very telling in this matter.

"Oh, there is a whole lot more," Blake muttered, likely not meaning to be overheard, but it had stood out in a moment of unnatural silence in the diner; as if even the patrons knew something was amiss. "Justin has always been far too polite to say anything though."

"Blake." Justin hissed, sending a quelling look Blake's way; one that the other blond blatantly ignored.

"Don't give me that look," Blake hissed back, his mouth in a tight, white line and blue eyes flashing with anger. They stared at each other for a long moment before Justin huffed and looked away. "You know that you should have done something about that a long ass time ago. There was no excuse for her behavior."

"Stop it, Blake," Justin said in a steely voice, and this time Blake huffed and turned his attention to putting a sleeping Luc into his carrier.

Mel was getting a bit tired of all the cryptic conversation.

"Baby," Mel said, addressing a silently fuming Justin. "What happened?"

Justin blew out an exasperated breath and shot another irritated look Blake's way; and again, Blake ignored it in favor of just staring Justin down.

"Sorry, Mel," Justin said, in a tone that said anything but; and Mel had to applaud him on not breaking under Blake's stare. "But that is between Lindsay and I." He paused, glaring at Blake again, and pointedly stating in his direction. "And I will address it in time."

"It's way past time if you ask me," Blake groused, determined to have this out here and now, even if Justin would have preferred to keep whatever it was under wraps.

Justin just sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I mean it, Justin," Blake continued, as if somehow sensing that Justin was close to caving in and saying something. And Mel couldn't help being fascinated with the dynamics of their friendship. "If you don't say something soon, I will be letting the others know and let the chips fall where they may."

"I swear to God," Justin hissed, looking truly pissed off for the first time since Blake brought it up. But to give Blake credit, he didn't even flinch under Justin's ire. "You are an absolute pain in my ass."

"I'm your friend," Blake quietly said, effectively stopping any argument Justin might have had cold. "And it pisses me off that she's gotten away with this for so long."

"I have to agree, Justin," Ted said, his voice equally hushed. "It's not right."

"Christ, you know too?" Justin asked, his ire renewing itself; and Mel didn't know what to think at this point. Part of her really wanted to know what the hell Lindsay had done to garner this reaction. But, at the same time, she didn't want to know; because this was about her partner and she wasn't sure she could handle knowing it without it drastically changing the way she viewed her wife.

"Do you even have to ask that?" Blake huffed in exasperation, running a hand over his hair. "He _is_ my husband, Justin; and I came home quite pissed off when we found out. Did you really expect me to keep it…"

"Okay, I get it," Justin groused, rubbing his hair in a very like manner. "I'll deal with it; but only when I'm ready to." And again they entered in a stare-off, with Justin winning this time. He huffed and gathered his things, throwing money on the table for his meal. "I need to go; I promised Brian that I'd drop a sandwich by the office for him as he's been too busy to grab something today. So, I'll see you all later."

"Justin," Blake said softly, obviously not wanting his friend to leave, seemingly mad at him; Justin sighed and rubbed his face.

"I'm not mad at you, Blake," he said, a weak smile on his face. "Just the situation." He leaned over and dropped a kiss on the top of Blake's head and then seemed to hesitate, chewing on his bottom lip for a moment before he finally said. "Go ahead and tell Mel if you want; this way she's not blindsided by it later."

And then he strode away, stopping at the counter to pick up a take-out container that likely held Brian's sandwich. He paid and then waved to them before taking off. Mel just sat there stunned for a moment, her heart picking up in tempo as she tried to figure out just what hell had happened.

But then, she knew exactly who could tell her, didn't she?

Turning to Blake and Ted, she arched a brow, silently demanding an explanation for that whole cryptic conversation. Because, if this was something that was going to bite her on the ass later, she wanted to know now. And twenty minutes later, when the two of them were done, Mel had to wonder if it had been the right thing to do; she felt as if her whole world had been tipped on its axis, and she had to wonder if she ever really knew her wife at all.


	67. March 6

**March 6**

Justin smiled and held Luc, cooing at him as he made little spit bubbles, the others conversation swirling around him. He looked up, his smile broadening when he found Brian watching the two of them with a half-smile curling at the corner of his mouth. Justin tipped his head back in invitation and closed his eyes as Brian lowered his head and softly kissed his lips, lingering just long enough that Luc squeaked and demanded their attention.

He opened his eyes as Brian pulled away and laughed when Brian looked down at Luc with an disgruntled look, and then Brian looked at Justin and dropped a kiss onto the tip of his nose. Justin looked down at Luc, who was now sucking on his fist, but seemed to be drawn to the vivid crimson of Brian's tie. Justin cooed again as Luc stopped sucking on his fist and reached out, batting at Brian's tie as he pressed his lips to Justin's ear.

"I can't wait to see you holding Sunbeam," Brian whispered, pressing a kiss to the tip of his ear; Justin bit back a giggle and shrugged his shoulder as it had tickled. And then he looked over his shoulder at Brian, surprised to find Brian's eyes back on him, his lips rolled between his teeth as if he wanted to say something, but was holding back due to the current mixed company.

But Justin could easily read the sentiment in his eyes, and whispered, "Me too."

Brian smiled and looked away, prompting Justin to do the same, and then he blushed as he realized that all eyes, bright with smiles, were on the two of them and he hadn't even noticed. Not that he usually noticed that sort of thing whenever Brian was in one of these moods. Justin tended to get a bit lost in the moment, and _him,_ and savored it for the rarity that it was.

Pressing a kiss to Luc's forehead, Justin stood and circled the table, handing the small bundle of joy back to Blake, who immediately settled him into his carrier and placed a pacifier in his mouth when he started to fuss. Justin went back to his seat and sat down, leaning into Brian as he wrapped an arm around Justin's shoulders. And then he focused his attention back on the couple who were the entire reason for this gathering.

Deb and Carl were smiling at the two of them, looking like proud parents and, almost, as if this celebration was for Brian and Justin's anniversary rather than their own. They'd finally tied the knot two years ago after same-sex marriage had been legalized the year before and her boys now had the chance to either marry or have their unions recognized. And he and Brian, along with Ted and Blake, had decided to take them out to dinner for an early celebration.

While their actual anniversary wasn't until the tenth of the month, and Michael had put together a party for that coming weekend, there was no way in hell they were going to be there. Ted and Blake because they didn't want to keep Luc out the long yet; and Justin and Brian…well that was self-explanatory. Neither of them had seen Michael, except at a distance, for a month, and they planned to keep it that way.

"So, Sunshine," Deb said, in that tone that Justin had come to recognize as her, ' _I'm about to meddle_ ' tone. She took a sip of her wine and then set the glass down. "Have you signed up for birth classes yet? I've heard that they fill up pretty fast down there."

And yup, he knew it; he'd just been waiting for the baby to come up in some way tonight. Although, that she'd waited this long to start prying had been a pleasant surprise. Justin had been expecting that his pregnancy and Luc would have dominated the topics tonight, but Deb had been surprisingly circumspect on saying anything about it.

Likely due to his last email, where he'd told people that as much as he loved them, they needed to kindly butt the fuck out and allow him and Brian to decide what they wanted them to know. Which was why he couldn't help teasing her a bit now.

"No; why would I need those?" Justin asked, pasting a wide-eyed innocent look onto his face; one that had his husband snorting. "You just squeeze and out it pops, right?"

Silence descended on the table, all of them staring at Justin in disbelief; but whether it was because they couldn't believe that he'd said that or because they'd actually believed the nonsense pouring out of his mouth, he didn't know. But then Carl chuckled and Blake bit back a snicker; Ted just shook his head and Brian dropped his head into his hands, muttering something Justin didn't quite catch.

"Who needs classes for that?" Justin continued; because in for a penny, in for a pound.

"Sunshine!" Deb exclaimed, staring at Justin with disbelief; Justin grinned unrepentantly, chuckling wholeheartedly when Deb chose to smack Brian on the back of his head instead of Justin.

"What the fuck was that for?" Brian groused, rubbing the back of his head.

"Well, I can't hit him," Deb complained, gesturing at Justin. "He's pregnant!" And then she pointed a bright red nail in Brian's direction. "Besides, I know you; and this is all your influence. Sunshine was not nearly this much of a smart ass until you corrupted him."

Justin laughed as Brian's eyes bugged out at that comment, and he stared at Deb incredulously; Deb just smirked, knowing full well that she was talking out of her ass. Then Brian turned and glowered at Justin.

"Laugh now, little twat," Brian hissed under his breath, drawing yet another bubble of laughter from Justin. "You'll pay for that later."

"I'm trembling," Justin snickered, fluttering his lashes; Brian huffed, grabbed his Beam and took a long swallow, shaking his head at Justin's audacity.

"Now, Sunshine," Deb said, turning back to the subject at hand; and damn it, he'd hoped that he'd adequately distracted her away from the topic. "You know they cover more than that."

"I know, Deb," Justin said, jabbing Brian in the side when he snickered; he'd known exactly what Justin had been trying to do, but hadn't bothered to help in Justin's deflection. "But I'm still not signing up for the classes."

"Why not?" Deb demanded, her hands going to her hips; Justin fought back a groan as Brian snorted into his drink. The traitor. "You need to know these things _before_ giving birth."

"Because both Brian's and my schedules are far too erratic for us to sign up for them," Justin calmly explained, poking Brian in the side once again. And that really was the truth; they just didn't have the time to go to classes. "Especially Brian's as he often has to travel for work."

"Well, why don't you hire one of those…" Deb said, snapping her fingers as she tried to remember the word. "Oh, what are they called? Those professional birth coach people."

"A doula," Blake supplied, and then shrugged when all eyes turned to him. "What? I considered it for a bit after Ted fainted when he found out that he was going to be a father. I didn't need him passing out on me in the middle of the birth."

"Theodore never was all that good with the whole hospital bit," Brian smirked, snickering when Ted flipped him off.

"Hey, I made it through the birth just fine, fuck you very much," Ted groused, rocking Luc's carrier in the hope of getting him to fall asleep.

"Only because Blake would have gotten up out of that bed and kicked your ass if you would've passed out on him," Justin snorted, and then bumped fists with Blake when he held his up.

"We're getting sidetracked," Deb huffed, turning back to Justin; and he had to give her credit for her tenacity. Although, come to think of it, Deb always had been like a terrier with a bone when she was onto one of her pet projects. "So, hire one of those doula things."

"Uh no," Justin said, shaking his head emphatically; he had nothing against a doula in general, but he just didn't feel comfortable with that idea at all. Plus, there was no way in hell that he'd give Brian even a breath of an opportunity to book it. "I do not want someone I barely know sharing such an intimate experience; plus, there is no way in hell that Brian is getting out of this. He's the one who knocked me up, so he gets to face the consequences."

"But Sunshine…" Deb protested, her expression turning mulish. And fuck, he really didn't want to talk about this anymore; so he decided to toss her another bone.

"Besides, I never said I wasn't going to learn all those things that they do in the classes," Justin said, glaring at a highly amused Brian. He could've opened his mouth and fucking helped out here; but Justin supposed that this was his punishment for the smack on the head. "Just that I wasn't signing up for the actual classes."

"Well then, what the fuck are you going to do?" Deb demanded, blatantly ignoring Carl's exasperated sigh. Carl shot Justin a sympathetic look.

"I found this online class that will work much better for us," Justin shrugged. "They have all these videos where they cover all the basics you'd learn in a class. And they are available at anytime of the day or night, opposed to a set class time."

Deb huffed and shook her head.

"I don't understand all this fascination with online videos and that BoobTube thing you kids are always watching these days." Deb complained, her nose scrunched up.

And they all looked at her in confusion for a moment before it clicked and then they all laughed, only adding further to her confusion.

"YouTube, Deb," Brian snickered, rubbing his hand over his jaw. "It's YouTube."

"Whatever the fuck it is," Deb huffed, waving it off as unimportant. "It isn't right; you can't substitute a video for a live person being right there to answer your questions and guide you through the various exercises and what not. You can't replace a real mother's touch."

"But, that's why we have you, ma," Brian said with a sweet smile; Justin turned and stared at his husband as if he'd suddenly sprouted a second head. Or would that be third? Anyways, who…what the actual fuck…? Brian would never say something like that in public and it was seriously out of character. "Who needs a stranger to answer our questions when we have someone who knows and cares for us around to take care of these things."

Then Brian sat back and looked over at Justin, a devilish sparkle in his eyes; Justin watched him with narrowed eyes, wondering just when this alien had overtaken his husband's body. And then his eyes widened. _Oh, no he didn't._ Justin narrowed his eyes again, realizing that Brian was playing _that_ game. The one where he tried to supplant Justin as Deb's favorite.

Oh, it was so on, Mr. Taylor-Kinney.

"Brian…you…" Deb stammered, her eyes flooding with tears as she pressed a hand against her chest. That fucking cheater; he'd known exactly what he had been doing here. "I can't believe that you…come here you little shit; I need to hug you."

Brian got up and wrapped his arms around Deb; (and seriously, who the fuck _was_ this alien in his husband's skin) and patted her on the back; he kissed her on the top of her head, all the while staring at Justin with a smirk. Asshole. Then he released her and sat back down, leaning in to whisper for Justin's ears only.

"I win," Brian said, his eyes sparkling with laughter.

"Bite me," Justin hissed, even though he was still smiling at Deb as she wiped her eyes.

"Later," Brian promised with a shit-eating grin, kissing him on the ear.

"Will you two stop with the flirting?" Deb huffed, but she was smiling at them nonetheless. "Honestly, we can't take you anywhere."

"What fun is that?" Brian quipped, smirking when everyone rolled their eyes and groaned. And then he smugly turned to Justin and waggled his brows.

Justin just narrowed his eyes again; and then he smiled, because he knew how to turn this around on his husband. Brian arched a brow, obviously curious as to why Justin was smiling, but he refused to ask. That was okay. He'd learn in good time.

"Well, it's only right, Brian," Justin smirked, barely quelling a laugh when Brian's eyes narrowed, trying to figure out where Justin was going with all of this. "It's only fair that we focus on them since we _are_ celebrating their anniversary."

Justin turned to Deb and Carl and beamed.

"Suck up," Brian muttered, again for Justin's ears only.

"Like you weren't doing the same," Justin said out of the corner of his mouth. And then he stood and picked up his glass of sparkling cider. "So, I'd like to propose a toast." Justin raised his glass and waited for the others to do the same. "To Deb and Carl, happy anniversary; and may you have many more happy years together."

"To Deb and Carl," Brian, Blake and Ted all said together; although, Brian was shooting an exasperated look Justin's way.

"Ah, thanks sweetheart," Deb beamed as everyone took a sip of their respective drinks. "I'm so glad that we got a chance to spend it with you boys."

"And with that in mind," Ted said, as he set aside his sparkling cider; he pulled out a thin, blue envelope, the kind that would hold a greeting card. "It's time for the gifts."

"Oh, boys," Deb protested, but Ted didn't listen to a word that she'd said; he just slid the envelope over in front of her. "You didn't have to…"

"Nonsense," Ted said, shooting a conspiring look with Brian; and Justin was well aware that his and Blake's gift was supposed to compliment his and Brian's gift, but he didn't know in what way. "It's just a little something that we hope that you'll both enjoy."

Deb smiled and then slid a finger under the flap and opened the card; she smiled, her eyes misting as she handed the card to Carl so he could read it. Then she picked up the paper that was in the card, read it and gasped. Justin watched, perplexed, as her eyes widened and her lips trembled as she stared at piece of paper before showing Carl, who gasped too. And then she flipped it around to show Justin and the others. His eyes widened as he realized that it was a voucher for an all expenses paid week in Niagara Falls.

Well, that made sense now.

"Oh, honey," Deb said, looking at the paper and then at Ted and Blake and then back to the paper and then back to her boys, her hand pressed to her mouth. "This is too much…"

"Not at all, Deb," Blake said firmly, shaking his head when she tried to hand the voucher back to them. "We wanted to do this. I know that you were planning to go last year, and then Ben got sick and you had to cancel; and that you haven't had a chance to reschedule the trip. So, this is incentive for you two to finally get to it."

"Thank you, boys," Carl said, a little choked up himself as he took the voucher from Deb's hand and placed it back into the card. "I'll get back to you once we've decided on a date and then we can plan from there."

Deb just nodded and dabbed her eyes with her napkin; and then she turned her sights onto Brian, thinking that, at the very least, he'd be predictable. If she only knew.

"So, where's my gift, asshole?" Deb demanded, smirking when Brian scowled; because this at least was something familiar to her.

"What makes you think I have one for you?" Brian groused, huffing when Justin jabbed him in the ribs again. "You know I don't celebrate birthdays or anniversaries…"

"Because Justin would never allow it," Deb smirked. And she was right; Justin would have made sure that they had a gift to give, even if he'd had to buy it, wrap it and sign the damned card with both of their names himself.

"She's got you there, kid," Carl said, laughing when Brian rolled his eyes.

"Well, this sort of goes with their gift in a way," Brian said, pulling out another thin envelope, just like the one Ted handed over, but in green this time. "Or it can be; that's the way we planned it, but it doesn't have to be if it doesn't work out for you."

Deb crowed and grabbed the envelope from Brian's hand, instantly ripping into it as she always did; but that's were the similarities to past years ended. She, again, read the card first, laughing this time at Brian and Justin's message; and then she handed it off to Carl to read while she opened the piece of paper that had been in the card. And then she froze, her mouth dropping open as she read the contents.

"Brian…" Deb whispered, her eyes still glued to the paper as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing; and then she finally looked up, completely stunned as she handed the voucher off to Carl.

"We know that you've never had the chance to have a real wedding," Brian said, a smug smile on his face; and really, when you offered up an all-expenses paid wedding to do a renewal of vows, you have the right to be a little smug. "So, we wanted to make sure that you got whatever you wanted this time."

"Oh, boys," Deb said, very likely speechless for the first time in her life. "I can't…"

"You can, and you will, Ma," Brian stated in an implacable tone; Justin nodded his agreement. "So, set the date, and then tell Emmett, and he'll take care of the planning."

"Oh, you boys are too much," Deb whispered, her hands pressing to her cheeks as she stared back down at the paper; but she didn't move to hug them as she knew that Brian would hate the gesture while they were all in public; and once had definitely been enough. "Thank you."

They both grinned and nodded; and then Justin cast a sly look at Brian that had him instantly stiffening. But Justin just smiled and pulled out _another_ envelope; one that Brian hadn't known about. It wasn't that he'd purposely kept it from Brian; he just hadn't said anything because he wasn't sure if he could get the gift done in time for Deb's and Carl's anniversary, what with his limited work hours.

"There _is_ one more thing," Justin said as he slid the envelope over.

"Sunshine, this is more than enough," Deb protested, staring at the envelope as if she were going to cry.

"Yeah, Sunshine," Brian said, arching a brow; Justin just smiled, all faux innocence. Brian snorted. "You never mentioned _this_ before."

"Oh, it was something I'd planned before we came up with the voucher idea," Justin said, turning to smile at Deb. "I wasn't sure if I could finish it in time, so I didn't want to say anything just yet. Keep in mind; this is only a picture of the real deal."

Deb opened the envelope and pulled out a picture of a painting; well, actually, it was a pastel done of the entire family, all gathered in Deb's home. It had everyone, including Vic and Rodney, who had both sadly passed away years before. It was fairly big and would end up taking up most of the wall in the living room.

"Oh my God, Sunshine!" Deb gasped, staring at the picture with no little amount of awe. "Oh, baby; this is so amazing."

"I figured that you could finally retire that painting in your living room and put this up instead." Justin shrugged nonchalantly, even if he was cackling on the inside; God, he hated that painting and he was certain that Deb only kept it up just to spite him.

"Ahhhhh, the truth comes out!" Brian said knowingly, an amused smirk on his face; Justin peeked up at him, hoping he wasn't upset that Justin had done this. Because it really hadn't meant as a form of one-upmanship, just something he knew Deb would like. Brian smiled and dropped a kiss on his forehead, reassuring him all was well. "He's been begging you to get rid of that thing for years; now, you won't have a choice because really, what could compete with a Justin Taylor-Kinney original?"

"Oh, hush you," Deb huffed, but cackled in delight because she knew Brian was right. "Trust me; this is well worth getting rid of that old thing." And then Deb got up and yanked Justin out of his chair into a hug; Justin shot a smug look at a mock glaring Brian. Favored child status returned. "Thank you, baby; it's beautiful."

Justin just smiled and sat back down; and then he waited until Deb was distracted, talking to Carl about the painting and the wedding and the potential honeymoon trip, to turn to Brian with a grin.

"I win," Justin whispered, smirking when Brian huffed.

"Bite me," Brian said with little heat, shaking his head at Justin's antics.

"Later," Justin promised, leaning up to kiss his husband on the mouth.


	68. March 7

**March 7**

Brian sat at his desk, staring at his computer, but he wasn't really seeing anything as his mind was on other things. When he'd gotten in that morning, he'd found a note from Yasmeen on his desk, telling him that he'd gotten a call from Detective Tak Nakumara after he'd left for the day; and that he needed to speak with him. And it had been preying on his mind ever since.

It'd figured; the one day this week that he left early for the dinner celebration, and _that's_ when he called.

Sighing, Brian scrubbed a hand over his face, and checked the clock, frowning when he saw that he still had another five to ten minutes before Tak showed. When he'd called the detective back this morning, he'd been hoping for a quick update, or something equally and easily be resolved, since his scheduled was packed from the moment that he arrived, right up until he left at around seven this evening.

Unfortunately for him, it hadn't been anything that was going to be resolved with a five minute phone conversation alone, as had been made clear by the detective. Tak had mentioned that he did have a new lead to the case, for which Brian had been ecstatic, but that he really needed to talk to him face-to-face on a delicate matter that had arisen as a result of the new information. And Brian really hadn't known what to make of his words or tone.

Tak had sounded both amused and concerned when mentioning this new lead, leaving Brian feeling a bit wrong-footed and wondering what about this situation could be amusing. Truth be told, he'd been a little irritated about that; this was his husband's safety that was at risk, and he found nothing amusing about it.

But he was willing to give the detective the benefit of the doubt; and he'd agreed to meet with him, but unless it was an emergency, he said that he could only do it if Tak came to the office during his lunch or after seven that evening. He'd spent too much time away from his office as it was lately and he couldn't keep putting his clients off, even if it was for understandable reasons.

"Mr. Kinney-Taylor."

Brian looked up to find Yasmeen standing in his open doorway, and grinned; it always amused him at how formal she sounded whenever he had a visitor. Mostly because she had absolutely no problem treating him like he was a wayward boy, even though he was older than her by a few years, when no one else was around. He was certain that was all Justin's fault.

"Yes, Yasmeen," Brian said, pushing his computer aside, as he figured that the detective had finally made an appearance.

"Detective Nakumara is here," Yasmeen said; she rolled her eyes at his expression, letting him know that she knew exactly what he was thinking, which just had his smile broadening. "Shall I show him in?"

"If you would, please, " Brian said, sitting up in his chair and straightening out his suit jacket. "I'd appreciate it, Yasmeen. Also, if you could find out whether or not he wants anything to drink; I'd appreciate that as well."

Yasmeen nodded and stepped outside the door; Brian listened as Yasmeen addressed Tak, showing him towards Brian's office, and asking him if he'd like anything to drink; which he'd politely declined. Brian rose from his chair as the detective crossed the threshold and nodded to Yasmeen as she'd discreetly closed the door behind her. He held out his hand in greeting as Tak reached the desk

"Brian," Tak greeted, taking his hand and shaking it with a nice, firm grip. And Brian had always admired that in a person, whether it be a man or woman; a good, firm grip demonstrated confidence in themselves, and that increased his confidence in them.

"Tak," Brian nodded, and then gestured to the chairs in front of his desk after dropping the detective's hand. "Please, have a seat."

"Thanks for meeting with me today," Tak said as he sat down, pulling his ever-present notebook and pen from his pocket as he did so.

"Not a problem; and thanks for accommodating me by coming here," Brian said, sitting back down himself. "I'm sorry that I couldn't make it down to the precinct; but my day is pretty tight today and I've been putting off these accounts far too many times lately."

"It's fine," Tak said, waving Brian's concern off with a flick of his hand. "As I said on the phone, this wasn't an emergency situation; but I did want to jump on it as soon as possible as it's the only lead we've got so far."

And Brian could fully understand and appreciate that.

"What can I do for you?" Brian asked, resting his clasped hands on his desk.

"We received an anonymous tip from a man that claimed to have had sex with the person that we assume is the stalker," Tak said as he flipped through his notes.

Brian's brows shot up into his hairline at that statement. Well, that was certainly an odd claim. And he couldn't help wondering what brought them to that conclusion and how it played into the reason the detective was visiting him today. Maybe they actually got a photo of the man?

"Okay," Brian said slowly, rubbing his hand over his jaw as he stared at the detective. "What makes you say that?"

"Well, this person," Tak continued, reading from his notes; Brian guessed it was to make sure that he didn't miss anything. "Claimed that he had sex with someone over a week ago..." Tak paused as Brian snorted his displeasure. "Yeah, I know; I wish he would have gotten to me sooner. Anyways, this man picked him up at a bar and he ended up going with him, and spending the night. And while, he did give a rough description of the person; it was much too vague to do much good. But what did stand out, was that he mentioned that the guy kept calling him Justin that night and that the man was wearing a very distinctive item of clothing, which is the only reason we're paying any attention to this tip."

"The jacket," Brian surmised, rolling his lips under; it was the only thing that made sense. Justin had made too big of a deal over that jacket for it not to have been a significant clue.

"Exactly," Ta k nodded, flashing a diamond sharp grin Brian's way; and really, that was good news as, if they could find out where the two had met, they could potentially get this guy's location. "The witness mentioned the wolf on the jacket."

"So, what's being done?" Brian asked, feeling excited for the first time in a couple of weeks; as it had been disheartening when Tak had told him that they'd run out of leads the last time they'd met. "Did this guy give you an address or…"

"Unfortunately, they went to a motel room that the guy rented for the night," Tak sighed, scratching at his eyebrow as he continued reading from the notebook. "We did investigate that angle, but unfortunately the guy paid in cash, and he gave a fake ID. We are hoping to get something from the surveillance tapes though."

"Of course he did," Brian huffed, deflating a bit; well, that was out then.

"And we do have the make and color of the car the suspect used; but without a license plate number, it doesn't do me much good," Tak continued, making Brian deflate even further, because this didn't sound like much of a lead at all. "And unfortunately for us, the witness didn't think to grab the license plate number as it wasn't until several hours later that something clicked and by then, the suspect and his car were gone."

"Fuck," Brian muttered under his breath, his frustration mounting; so what was the point to this meeting other than to tell him what he already knew – they had nothing. "So, it sounds like more of a whole lot of nothing to me. I'm not sure why you think I'll be of much help."

"Well, it was more the story he told us," Tak hedged, instantly garnering Brian's attention; there was just something in the way he said it that made Brian's hackles rise. "It was what had him coming to us in the first place; and that, in turn, had me coming to you for more information on the caller."

"What?" Brian retorted, not liking this feeling at all. "Is he a former trick? Because, I have to tell you, I never learned their names or their personal details, so I can't supply you with any information to track the anonymous caller down."

"No," Tak hurriedly reassured Brian, but it didn't really bolster his confidence. "He said that you hired him through a service; back when he was younger, and in dire need of some quick cash; he joined an escort service, and the reason he remembered you so vividly, was because you had called him Justin during your interactions."

"I'm not sure what to tell you," Brian stated carefully; while the detective really couldn't do anything as he didn't have anything other than hearsay on his past actions, Brian wasn't keen on incriminating himself further by admitting to them.

"I'm not tying to get you to confess to anything," Tak said, rolling his eyes. "I just want to track this guy down as it's the only lead I have. Even if he can't lead me to the actual perp, he can tell me where he last saw him other than the motel, and he could be potentially sitting on other identifying details and not even realize it. At the very least, we might actually get a sketch of this guy."

Okay, Brian could understand that; but he didn't really know how much help he could be, as the last time he'd hired someone had been over five years ago. Actually it had been eight, closer to nine years ago; before Justin had even moved away to New York. He just hadn't seen any need to use one when tricks were plentiful at Babylon; and nothing, and no one, could ever be more satisfying than fucking and sucking with Justin.

"The problem is," Brian said with a shrug. "The same applies to the service. I barely remember what they even look like. I could run into them on the street and not even know who they were. That is how little I paid attention to them back then."

"He said that you'd remember him," Tak pressed on, trying to drive the point home; Brian was skeptical. He'd never bothered to know anything about or even engage in conversation with his tricks; it's what made his interactions with Justin stand out even in the beginning. Brian never cared to know his tricks; and he certainly didn't feel the need to share any information on himself. He'd just talked to them long enough to get them into bed, fucked them into the mattress and then kicked them out.

But with Justin, he'd found himself asking after his his likes and dislikes; he'd shared his first time story, and had even dragged him to the fucking hospital to see his newborn son. Honestly, he had to have been completely blind, and so far lost in the land of denial that an interactive map with GPS couldn't have helped him find his way, to not realize that this kid was so very different from the start.

"Well, he said that; and I quote," Tak said, reading from his notebook. " _'There is no way that the King of Liberty Avenue would ever forget me as he'd special-ordered me, looking for my exact physical characteristics.'_ He said that you chose him because he bore a striking resemblance to, and I quote again, _'his Prince,_ ' as he referred to Justin."

Brian winced, because there was only one time period that he could think of where that would have been true; and he still hated thinking of that time to this day.

"He said that it wasn't just a one time deal either," Tak continued. "And that he'd heard through the rumor mill that there had been a break-in at your loft, and that it might have been instigate by Justin's potential stalker; and that this encounter with the suspect had left him feeling uncomfortable before remembering everything, but that it had increased doubly so when he remembered the interactions with you all those years ago."

And fuck, he was right; Brian did know exactly what time period that the detective was talking about. It had been during the fiddler fiasco, when Justin had left him for Ian. Brian vividly recalled calling that service every time the pain of missing Justin had gotten too much to bear; and he'd ordered this guy, just so he could pretend to have Justin in his bed for a little while.

"Swanson," Brian sighed; and yes, despite telling the guy the first time they'd met that his name didn't matter, he did eventually learn it; or at least his working name. It was hard not to know it when you requested the same person every few days. "His name was Blaine Swanson; although, I doubt that it was his real name. They never give out their real names at those places. Hell, I don't even know if the site is still in existence."

"Could you tell me what the name of the site is?" Tak asked, readying his pen to take down the information. "And maybe that will be give me a start in tracking this guy down."

"Sure, it was called Silverlight Escort Services," Brian said, still remembering that service well. "But I have to warn you, the chances that it is still up and running are slim; they've likely been shutdown or have set up operations under another name. We _are_ talking about ten to eleven years ago. Those places pop up and change with rapid frequency due to the nature of their business."

"But nothing is ever truly erased from the net," Tak grinned, notating the name into this his handy-dandy notebook. And Christ, Brian hadn't thought of that show in years; but Gus had been obsessed with it back then and it had just popped into his head for some reason. "And I have very talented and technologically -gifted friends. At least this gives me a starting point."

"Well, hopefully you'll find something out," Brian said, internally shaking his head at his earlier random thought. And then he stood when Tak began to rise from his chair. "I'd really like for Justin to rest easy knowing that this asshole is behind bars."

"Hopefully this will get us somewhere," Tak said, closing his notebook and shoving it in his pocket. He thrust his hand out. "If nothing else, we might just learn what this guy looks like sooner rather than later; and that _will_ get us somewhere."

"Thank you, as always," Brian said, shaking the detective's hand. "Please keep us updated and feel free to call if you have any other questions."

"Have a good one," Tak said as he turned on his heel and loped over to the door, letting himself out.

Brian shook his head, sat down and got lost in his thoughts again; his skin crawled a bit at the thought that someone slept with this guy for the same reasons that Brian had all those years ago. He'd hated doing it then, feeling pathetic that he couldn't seem to let go of Justin's ghost in his bed; and learning this had certainly brought home just how unhealthy his actions had been at the time. He was glad, however, that it hadn't led anywhere other than to Brian drawing comfort from a, now that he thought of it, only passable substitute for the real thing, and hadn't ended in an obsession like this guy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I meant to include this note with yesterday's vignette, but I was so tired after fighting with that particular vignette all day, that I forgot. So…while I'm well aware that marriage hadn't been legalized in Pennsylvania until Sept. 1, 2014, I have it happening in 2011. I pushed back all the laws by two to three years for this verse because I didn't really think about the marriage laws when I said that Justin was 30 and Brian 42 and that they'd been legally married for 5 years. At those ages, it would put the timeline in the year 2014 (if you go with the thought that each season falls in a different year), and well there is no way our current history would work for this 'verse. Thus I employ creative license and say, "It's my party and I'll do what I want to..."
> 
> Also, it was after 4 a.m. when I finally finished the vignette, and I was beyond exhausted, so I only gave it a cursory look through and posted it unbeta'd. I've since gone through it and smoothed out the writing and fixed a lot of the mistakes; although, I'm sure I missed some, so feel free to point them out if you see something.


	69. March 8

March 8

Justin took another look around his studio, making sure everything was set up and then walked out the door and down the hall in search of his husband. He was hoping that, since Brian hadn't come into the studio to tell him that he was heading out to the stables, he was still holed up somewhere in the house and he could convince him to join him for his…project. Yes, let's call it that.

He popped his head into their bedroom, but since he hadn't really expected to find Brian in there, he wasn't disappointed when it came up empty. That left one of two places that he could be – he was either curled up on the chaise in the living room, or in his study, working on the Nebula Cosmetics account.

Slowly heading down the stairs, Justin craned his head to look at the study door, and found it open, which meant that Brian wasn't in there either. So, he had to be in the living room. Climbing down the rest of the stairs, Justin headed into the living room, smiling when he found Brian sitting by the fire, reading the newspaper.

He leaned against the doorjamb and watched his husband for a moment. Brian's brow was pinched as he concentrated on whatever had caught his attention; and then he pulled a pen from behind his ear and jotted something down on the paper. And Justin figured he was doing the crossword puzzle, something that still surprised Justin.

He remembered the first time he'd caught Brian doing one; it had been a late Sunday morning during his first year in New York; Justin had just crawled out of bed, having slept late due to his first show and walked out to find Brian hunched over the New York Times. He'd frozen as soon as Justin made his way across the loft, his eyes wide, and a little panicked, when Justin looked down to figure out what he was doing. And then Brian had shrugged and blustered and made some excuse about being bored; and that he was only doing it because he had nothing better to do while he was waiting for Justin to wake up, so he could fuck him into the mattress.

Justin had nodded and kissed his cheek, and made breakfast for them both without saying a word, even though they both knew that Brian was full of shit. It was easier to just overlook it than say anything that might have Brian feeling awkward over something that he shouldn't even worry about.

Brian looked up and smiled, and then set his puzzle aside as Justin walked into the room. Justin sat down on the chaise between Brian's legs, snuggling in when Brian pulled him back against his chest.

"I'm surprised to actually see you in the house," Justin said, casting a sly glance his husband's way. And he was, as the last month or so, Brian had been spending at least one day down at the stables working on a project; one that had Brian deflecting Justin's questions every time he asked. "I would have thought that you'd be out in the stables by now, doing whatever it is you've been doing in there."

Brian snorted, obviously seeing through Justin's less than subtle dig for information.

"Nice try, Sunshine," Brian smirked, taking a sip of his coffee and then grimacing as he realized that it had gone cold. "Fishing isn't going to get you anywhere; besides, I don't need to be out there anymore."

Justin perked up at that mention; if Brian had finished the project, then it would make it that much easier for Justin to snoop, since he wouldn't down there as often.

"So, you're done?" Justin asked, absently trailing his fingers up and down Brian's arm, and then yelped as Brian pinched him in the side.

"Don't even think about it," Brian warned, tapping him on the nose when he looked up to glare at his husband. Justin huffed and rubbed his side; sometimes, he hated that Brian knew him as well as he did.

"Think about what?" Justin asked, trying to look and sound as innocent as possible; a feat he'd failed given the way Brian snorted again.

"Not buying what you're selling, Sunshine," Brian said, snickering when Justin scowled and slumped back into his arms. He dropped a kiss onto the corner of his mouth and whispered. "I'm on to you."

"Stop stealing my lines!" Justin groused, not even bothering to deny the implied accusation; it would be pointless.

"Besides," Brian continued, as if Justin hadn't said a thing, a smug smile on his lips. "You'll never get in. I changed the locks and I handed off the only key to Carl last weekend, since he's about the only one of us that is immune to your puppy dog eyes. So, good luck trying to wrangle it out of him."

Justin cursed under his breath, glowering at his husband for good measure; well, that put a damper on things, at least for now. Brian snickered, looking quite pleased with himself for thwarting Justin's plans. Jerk.

"Are you saying that the Big, Bad Kinney can't hack it," Justin asked, unable to resist taunting his husband, and hoping that it might goad him into loosening his lips.

"Not working, Twat," Brian smirked. "I admit to nothing. And that's Taylor-Kinney, as you well know. Unless it was some other blond twink that stood up before the good Rev. Tom with me, and then I'd have to wonder what you did with my real husband."

"I still think it's funny as hell that you convinced your mother's favorite pastor to marry us," Justin huffed, giving up on getting any information on the special project; at least for now. He'd find a way to get Brian to talk eventually. "Even funnier than when you fucked him before knowing he was 'the son of your mother's heart.'"

"Brings a new meaning to keeping it in the family," Brian quipped, tongue-in-cheek; Justin grimaced and smacked his arm.

"Ewwww…" he groaned, scooting away from his husband; not that he got far, as Brian just reeled him back in. "And here I was contemplating having my wicked way with you before that comment."

"Still wouldn't have gotten you the information you wanted, Sunshine," Brian smirked, dropping a kiss on his lips; Justin huffed, making Brian laugh and nip at the lobe of his ear. "As I said, I'm on to you."

Justin looked over his shoulder and studied his husband contemplatively; Brian just arched a brow, and Justin could tell that he was just waiting for his next ploy. Justin grinned and stood up, turned around and then straddled his husband, ignoring the way Brian had to steady him as his center of gravity was all fucked these days. He pinned an amused Brian against the back of the chaise and ground their cocks together, drawing a pleasured groan from Brian.

"I bet I can make you talk, Mr. Taylor-Kinney," Justin purred, adopting a very bad, Russian accent; he rocked their hips together and trailed kisses over his jaw, pulling back at intervals to watch the way his husband's eyes darkened with lust.

"Planning to 'torture' it out of me, are you, Sunshine?" Brian asked breathlessly as he wrapped his arms around Justin's waist and pulled him as close as he could; which wasn't all that close these days as Sunbeam was definitely make their presence known.

"Like it would take much work at all," Justin snorted, continuing to pepper Brian's neck and jawline with kisses, sucking on the skin gently, so as not to leave any unsightly bruises behind; at least, not where they could be seen. "All I'd have to do is wag my ass in your face, but deny you access to it and you'd cave like a house of cards."

Brian snorted, but didn't say anything at first, too intent on the way Justin's lips trailed over his skin; his breathing hitched as Justin continued to squirm in his lap, and then groaned full out again as Justin trailed his fingers over his rapidly hardening dick. That is, until Justin stopped his assault and looked down on him with one brow raised.

"What?" Brian demanded a bit impatiently; and Justin grinned that he'd already gotten his husband all riled up with just a few kisses and a judicious writhing of his hips. The man was putty in hands already and Justin had barely done a thing.

"I was waiting for you to deny it," Justin mock huffed; Brian arched a brow. Justin rolled his eyes and slowly explained as if talking to a particularly slow and dense person…you know, like he would with Michael. "You know, I threaten you; you offer up a counter; I offer up my first form of torture and then you tell me I'll never get it out of you…"

Brian smirked and then took over, trailing hot, wet kisses over Justin's neck, sucking and nibbling at it until Justin all but melted against him. He sucked on the skin just above Justin's thrumming pulse, and Justin groaned, knowing that one was going to leave a mark. For all that Brian hated having visible marks above a certain point on his body, it certainly didn't apply to Justin; and, in fact, the possessive bastard seemed to take great joy in finding ways to show that Justin was his, and only his.

"What can I say?" Brian shrugged as he kissed Justin softly on the mouth, lingering when Justin sighed in contentment and nearly forgot his entire reason for coming out of his studio in the first place. "When you're right, you're right?"

"You are so failing at this interrogation thing," Justin mock complained, tilting his head as Brian continued to kiss over his jawline and back down his neck and over his collarbone, sending a frisson of pleasure shooting down his spine to pool in his groin and…why was he here again? Oh, right…pictures.

"I figured why bother to fight it when it gets me right where I want to be?" Brian smirked, capturing Justin's lips and immediately deepening the kiss as Justin's lips parted.

Brian licked into Justin's mouth and curled his tongue around Justin's, his hands sliding over every bit of skin he could reach. Justin allowed it for a moment, enjoying the feel of his husband's hands and mouth on him before he reasserted his control. After all, this was supposed to be his interrogation, and he was supposed to be turning the man beneath him into a puddle of goo, not the other way around.

"You're so easy," Justin mock sniffed, rolling his eyes when Brian just stared at him with bemusement, one brow arched again; as if to imply that he wasn't the one squirming around in his lap and completely at his mercy; which Justin ignored.

"Hence why I gave the key to Carl," Brian smirked, sliding his hands down to cup Justin's ass and squeeze, drawing a low moan from Justin's lips. "Your interrogation techniques won't work on him."

"You ruin all my fun," Justin complained halfheartedly, rocking his hips against Brian's and sliding his hands up his shirt to tweak his nipples at the same time. Brian hissed, his hands tightening on Justin's hips as he bucked up into him. Justin groaned and threw his head back as their dicks ground into one another.

"I'm still willing to sacrifice myself for the cause, however," Brian said, sliding a hand down the back of Justin's track pants, rumbling with pleasure when he met with bare skin; although why he was surprised, he didn't know. As Justin once said, he'd given up on underwear when Brian seemed to take his wearing them as a personal challenge.

"Noted," Justin smirked; and he was tempted to forget all about the project, and let Brian lay him down here on the chaise for a nice, long, slow fuck. But then, he figured, if things went as he expected, he'd get that anyways due to the pictures. "And hold that thought; as I actually came to find you for another reason."

Brian stared at him incredulously, and then huffed and pulled out his hand.

"Tease," he muttered, flopping back against the chaise and staring up a Justin with a disgruntled moue. "Build me up, only to let me down."

"You'll enjoy it," Justin sing-songed, a devilish glint in his eyes; and that seemed to perk Brian up in more than one way.

"Oh?" Brian asked, decidedly more interested at those words; he licked his lips and slid his eyes slowly over Justin's body. Justin shivered, feeling it like a palpable caress. "And what do you need me to do?"

"Remember how I said that I had an idea for a painting to…" Justin paused with a small frown, trying to think of the best way to say this; he didn't want to say it would replace what they lost, as nothing could replace it. But he did want to create something new to represent where they stood at this present time in their lives. "Not replace the one that was destroyed, but to put in the room?"

"Yes," Brian carefully stated, his face going blank.

And damn it, that's not what he wanted to do; he didn't want Brian to get upset or feel guilty or any negative emotion for that matter as this was supposed to celebrate them and show that no matter what this asshole attempted, he would never break them apart. Justin was Brian's for life. And there would never be another man for Justin other than Brian.

Leaning down, Justin kissed Brian softly on the lips, brushing his against Brian's in teasing caresses until Brian relented and his mouth opened underneath Justin's. He dipped his tongue in, slowly tracing every ridge and dip in Brian's mouth, savoring the taste of his husband, and the lingering hint of coffee. He teased his tongue against Brian's, tangling it with his until Brian slid a hand in his hair and took control of the kiss.

Groaning, Justin allowed his head to be tipped into a better angle as his husband sat up, and pressed against him, there bodies slotting together in that perfect way. Justin melted into Brian and allowed his husband to control their kiss until he was hot and trembling and breathless, and then he pulled away and rested his head against Brian's.

"So, I was going to ask you to come up to the studio with me and pose for some pictures with me," Justin said, running his hands over Brian's chest; Brian tipped his head back, listening with interest as, typically, anytime Justin asked him into the studio, it was so he could pose for him. "Of course, you would have take your clothing off as neither of us would be wearing them in any of the photos or the painting."

Brian's eyes darkened and he licked his lips as Justin slowly pulled Brian's long-sleeved, knit shirt up his chest and then lifted his arms to facilitate its removal. Justin slid his hands down over his husband's chest, loving the way the skin pebbled and jumped under his touch, and that a shiver coursed through his body.

"And it might take awhile as I have several poses I'm considering," Justin continued, slowly unbuttoning his husband's jeans; Brian hissed as Justin teased his finger down the very obviously erect cock inside them. "That will, of course, mean that you'll have to spend several hours pressed up against me, skin to skin, occasionally rubbing and rocking and grinding against each other as we switch positions."

Brian groaned, rocking his hips up into Justin's hand as he wrapped it around his already leaking cock; he gathered up the pre-cum, and slicked it down the shaft, keeping his grip light so that it didn't chafe as much. Brian tipped his head forward and leaned it against Justin's shoulder as Justin trailed his fingers over his husband's cock, teasing him until he was panting softly against Justin's ear.

"That is, if you think you can handle it," Justin teased, trailing kisses down over his cheek until he reached the corner of Brian's mouth.

"Honestly, you had me at no clothing," Brian said, staring him in the eye, his own nearly black with desire. "The rest was just icing on the cake."

"Like I said, you're so easy…" Justin smirked, yelping when Brian slid his hands under his ass, and squeezed, and then quickly rose with Justin in his arms.

"You like me that way," Brian smirked, and then carried him over to the stairs, climbing them as fast as he could with his additional weight; and then sealed his mouth with Justin's as he carried him down the hall and into the studio, kicking the door closed behind him.

Mission accomplished.


	70. March 9

**March 9**

Jenny sat and watched her Papa J cleaning the kitchen and humming along with the iPod that she'd plugged in after dinner. She'd offered to help him out, knowing that he got tired easier these days, but he'd waved her off and set her up with her iPad, looking up iron-on appliqués to make onsies for Sunbeam.

And then, the next time she was over at Britin, they were planning to put together several onsies and pajamas for Sunbeam. She'd already found several that she wanted him to order, including a set of baby wild animal appliqués that she thought would look cute on the basic striped pajamas they bought, some full animal appliqués with various animal sayings on them for the onsies, and some underwater creatures for both.

She should probably look for some more, but as always, she was just caught up in spending time with her Papa J, as he had always been one of her favorite 'family members.' Oh, she knew he wasn't really her Papa, and she knew that calling him that upset her actual father; but she did it anyways because, if there was anyone she'd want as a Papa, it would be Justin.

He'd always been there for her for as long as she could remember, and unlike her dad, he didn't try to push his interests onto her; but rather, he'd sit there and talk to her for hours about what _she_ liked to do. Even when she could tell that he wasn't really that interested in the topic. The point was, he knew that _she_ was interested in it, and he would go out of his way to find out whatever he could about it, just so he could ask her the right questions and engage her in something other than comics.

Besides, her first memory was of Papa J; so, maybe that's why she loved him best. The memory was all blurry, in that way they were when you couldn't quite remember all the details; but in it, she'd fallen over and hit the back of her head on a brick. And of course she'd cried, and everyone came running, but Papa J had gotten there first. And he'd swooped her up and patted her on her back and gave her kisses before handing her off to Eema.

And then later, while she was resting, he drew for her, making up stories for all the animals she'd demanded that he draw for her. She still had all of the drawings, bound into a book that Eema had made for her years ago. He was the perfect daddy in her eyes; and she couldn't help feeling a bit envious of Sunbeam because Papa J was his or her real dad.

It's probably why he was making it a point to include her in that making the onsies and and pajamas; so that she'd always know that she was his 'Jenny girl,' and always would be.

She really loved spending time with him for that reason; he never forgot about her, and he was always happy to spend time with her. Plus, when he got like this, all happy and dancing around and singing in the kitchen, it was so cute. Uncle Brian was always teasing him about it, calling him his 'little ray of sunshine.' Although, sometimes it sounded like he didn't mean it, especially when he had to wake Papa J up in the morning.

The song switched to something that he obviously knew rather well, because Papa J started singing and bopping along to it; and really, she loved his voice. It was so pretty and she'd often wished that he would sing more often. She watched as he did a little dip and slide to the music and then giggled, blushing when she'd been caught watching him.

Papa J looked up, and smiled, that goofy one he always got when he knew that he'd been caught doing something silly. He shrugged and continued putting the leftovers away and setting the dishes into the sink; so, that he could rinse them off before he loaded them into the dish washer. He didn't dare just put them in or he would never hear the end of it from Anna; or so he said.

"So how is the science project going?" he asked, stacking the containers on top of each other and carrying them to the fridge. "Have you driven your mothers spare yet?"

"It's been fun," Jenny gushed, excited to be talking about her latest project; it had been something that Gus had never understood. He didn't know why she would seek out extra homework on her own; but, then again, he was a boy, so what did they know? She couldn't help it if she loved science and found everything so fascinating. "I've made three different perfumes so far – an orange and honeysuckle one; one that has various types of citrus and one with apples, cloves and cinnamon."

"I'm sure they're proud of your initiative," Papa J said, looking over his shoulder with a smile, the one that told her that he was just as proud, if not more so, of her than her own Mama and Daddy were.

"Eema is proud enough to burst," Jenny confessed shyly, doodling on her iPad. "She likes that I take after her when it comes to math and science, even if she decided on law in the end. Mama…" Jenny hesitated, not wanting to say anything bad about her Mama; but she sometimes had the feeling that her Mama was disappointed that she wasn't more girly like her. "Mama tries but... she's always complaining that her children didn't take after her artistically."

Papa J frowned, and his eyes darkened for a moment; but they quickly cleared up as he smiled at her again, instantly shaking off whatever had made him sad or angry. He ruffled her hair as he walked past into the pantry, making her giggle again. She could hear him moving some things around in the pantry and then he made an 'ah ha,' sound and came back out with a tin of cocoa. He held it up and she nodded, looking forward to what had become _their_ treat; since Gus preferred cider and Uncle Brian looked horrified and muttered something about carbs and seven o'clock.

She didn't really understand that, but it never failed to make Papa J laugh and tease Uncle Brian about getting old. To which, Uncle Brian would make funny choking noises and then spank Papa J on the ass and call him a smart ass.

Papa J walked back towards the fridge, dropping a kiss on the top of her head on his way, and pulled out the milk. He grabbed a sauce pan and dumped some milk into it, and set it to heating on a low flame. So that way the milk wouldn't burn he said. _It was better to take your time and do something right, than to rush it and make a mess of everything_ , was his motto he'd said.

And then Uncle Brian would chime in, and say that had always been his motto too; to which Papa J would glare at him and smack him on the back of the head.

They were really funny sometimes.

"But you did," Papa J said, stirring the cocoa in slowly. "You just show it differently; after all, you can't just throw different scents together and call it perfume, can you? It takes a certain level of artistry to combine them into something that's going to smell good. "

"I wish she'd see it that way," Jenny sighed; she bit her bottom lip and peeked through her bangs, happy to see that her Papa J was looking at her with pride.

"Well, I think that it takes great talent to do what you're doing," Papa J said, grabbing a couple of mugs from the cupboard and setting them on the counter. "I mean, yes, it's chemistry and a science project; but the science is all in how you prepare the ingredients and the method you use to scent the water. Just because you take all the right steps, doesn't make it perfume. That's where your artistry comes in."

"You think so?" Jenny asked, twisting a strand of her hair; she wanted to believe him, because she wanted to have something in common with her Mama. But sometimes, it just seemed that she couldn't do anything right where her Mama was concerned.

"I know so," Papa J said, pouring the chocolate into the mugs and bringing them over to the table. He set one down in front of her and then sat down himself.

And then he paused, taking a sip of his cocoa, as he thought of what he wanted to say. Jenny took a sip of hers too, waiting for Papa J to start talking again. These were always the best times, because Papa J was really smart, and always saw things in a different way than she did; and he always knew the right thing to say.

"Art comes in many forms," Papa J said, setting his mug on the table; he stared off to the side, his mouth pressed together in that way that said he was thinking hard about something. "It isn't just painting or sketching or sculpting."

He scratched his chin and then turned back to her with a smile.

"For example, a chef displays his artistry by putting together various ingredients to take food to another level, making it both pleasing to the palate and visually stunning," he said, gesturing with his hands as he always did when he talked about something he loved. "Or, Auntie Em...he displays his artistry by taking what the brides' want and builds fantasy environments, crafting them into their perfect days."

Jenny nodded; she could see how those could seem like art when done the right way; and if things like that could be art, well, then why not making perfume?

"Your Eema displays her artistry through the carefully worded arguments she uses in courts to convince the judge or jury to rule in her favor," Papa J continued, grinning at her, because he was right; no one could beat her Eema when it came to arguing. "And you do it too, when you work out an intricate problem or create your science projects so that they, not only do what they are supposed to do, but you also make them better than what you started with. It's all about how you look at things."

Jenny grinned, drinking her chocolate in silence, and feeling a whole lot better about it after hearing her Papa J's perspective. He always did know how to make her feel good.

"Your Papa J is right," Uncle Brian said, startling both her and Papa J; and then Papa J did that thing he always did when Uncle Brian was around; he smiled big and wide, and full of teeth – his Sunshine smile, just as she'd said earlier.

And then Uncle Brian smiled back; and Jenny couldn't help wiggling in her chair a bit at it because she was just so happy that _they_ were happy. And she knew that she wanted that someday; and she hoped that one day, she would be as lucky as they were.

After all, she may be only nine, but she knows what love looks like; she sees it every time her Papa J and Uncle Brian are in the room together. It's in the way their eyes light up whenever they see each other and the way they smile; as if there is no one else in the world, but the two of them. She sometimes wished her mothers would act that way. It made her sad that her Mama was too busy worrying about things going on in other people's lives to see the sadness in Eema's eyes.

Sometimes, she just didn't understand why they were still together when neither of them were very happy with each other. It would make more sense to her that they broke-up and found someone that would make them feel the way Uncle Brian and Papa J felt about each other.

"And where do you display your artistry, Uncle Brian?" Jenny asked, not wanting to think about her mothers; she would have to face that when she got home from school tomorrow, and that was soon enough. Right now, she preferred to just enjoy the time she had to spend with her other family.

"Well…" Uncle Brian drawled, his tongue pressing into his cheek as he shot a teasing look Papa J's way.

"Brian…" Papa J hissed, pointing a warning finger at Uncle Brian, who just laughed.

"I wasn't going there, you perv," Uncle Brian smirked, shaking his own finger at Papa J. "What I was going to say, was I obviously display it when I'm trying to convince a client that I know the best way to present their product; and then again, when I come up with the campaigns to make others want to buy the products."

"Do I want to now what Papa J thought you were going to say," Jenny asked innocently, even though she had some murky idea that it had to do with sex. It was the only thing that could make Papa J blush like that; and it was the only topic that they wouldn't talk about in front of her. But it was better to pretend that she didn't know what they were talking about.

And funnier that way too.

"Nope," Uncle Brian said, his eyes filled with laughter as he stared a blushing Papa J, who just stuck his tongue out at Uncle Brian. "Papa J's mind was in the gutter; where it usually is these days. But we'll just ignore that because he's pregnant and not himself."

"Bite me," Papa J huffed, flipping Uncle Brian off when he thought she wasn't looking; it was better to pretend she hadn't seen that either.

"Later," Uncle Brian smirked, walking over to the fridge to get a bottle of water from the fridge; and then he threw himself into a chair.

"Where's Gus?" Papa J asked as he got up and began rinsing the dishes and putting them into the dishwasher.

"He's holed up in his room, finishing that book report that he tried to tell me was finished," Uncle Brian huffed, scrubbing his hand over his face, and then he grimaced and sighed. "Like I believed that sh…tuff."

He cast a worried look Jenny's way, but she pretended that she was busy looking for more appliqués; he sighed in relief and turned back to Papa J, watching him the way he always did when they were in the same room. And God, she hoped one day that she would find someone that would love her that much.

"I'd say like father, like son," Papa J laughed, casting an amused look over at Uncle Brian. "But I know you actually like to read."

"How did I end up with a kid more interested in computers than anything else?" Uncle Brian lamented, rubbing his hand over his hair. "He used to love reading when he was a kid. I couldn't get him to sleep unless I read him a story."

"He still reads, Brian," Papa J said, shaking his head at Uncle Brian's antics. "He just does on the computer. Like everyone does these days."

"I don't," Uncle Brian grumbled, and then smiled as he watched Papa J sway to the music on the iPod.

"That's because you're old," Papa J said, snickering when Uncle Brian growled at him.

"You're just asking for it, brat," Uncle Brian said, glaring at Papa J, who just continued to laugh, not worried at all. And then uncle Brian smiled as the next song came on. Papa J looked over his shoulder and smiled as well.

Jenny always loved this Ed Sheeran song, especially when she found out that Papa J had bought the album just a month before their wedding and then changed their first dance song to _Kiss Me_ instead of whatever it was going to be. No one could remember really, as they all agreed that the song just fit them as a couple.

Uncle Brian stood up, and walked over to Papa J and wrapped his arms around him; he began humming and swaying with Papa J. And then he turned off the water and spun Papa J around. Papa J grinned, and automatically wrapped his arms around Uncle Brian, and allowed him to sweep him into a slow dance.

" _Settle down with me_ ," Uncle Brian whispered along with the lyrics, bringing out that Sunshine smile again. " _Cover me up, cuddle me in_ …"

Papa J giggled as Uncle Brian stepped away and spun him in a tight circle, and then pulled him back in again, continuing to sing slightly off key into his ear. Jenny watched, and wanted to clap her hands because it was so adorable, and she couldn't help being thrilled that she got to see them like this. But she also knew that few people ever got to witness Uncle Brian acting like a sap and she didn't want him to get uncomfortable.

" _And your heart's against my chest_ ," Uncle Brian sang, rubbing Papa J's cheek with his thumb as he leaned their foreheads together. " _Your lips pressed to my neck, I'm falling for your eyes_ …"

"But they don't know me yet," Papa J sang the next line, grinning in that way that said that they were sharing a secret; Uncle Brian laughed and looked a little embarrassed at that. And Jenny was pretty sure that it had something to do with when they'd first met, but everyone refused to tell her that story, saying that she was too young to know.

" _I'm in love now_ ," Uncle Brian whispered, pressing his lips to Papa J's for a just moment; and then he closed his eyes, getting lost in the music through the chorus. Papa J rubbed his nose against Uncle Brian's and hummed along until the next verse.

" _Settle down with me_ ," Papa J sang, smiling up into Uncle Brian's eyes. " _And I'll be your safety_ …"

" _You'll be my lady_ …" Uncle Brian whispered, smirking when Papa J squawked and smacked him on the arm, and then muttered about showing him just how much of a man he really was if he didn't watch it. " _I was made to keep your body warm…_ "

Uncle Brian wiggled his eyebrows, in that way adults did when they were talking about sex, but were yet again, trying not to talk about sex around her. Papa J laughed, especially when Uncle Brian dipped down, pulled them tightly together and did this little shimmy with their hips.

" _Kiss me like you wanna be loved_ ," Papa J sang, tipping his head back to look into Uncle Brian's eyes, while Uncle Brian just shook his head and called him a sap. "Takes one to know one. After all, I wasn't the one that started this."

"Point," Uncle Brian conceded, nuzzling his nose against Papa J's cheek as he sang the next lyrics. " _This feels like falling in love, falling in love; we're falling in love."_ He pressed his lips to Papa J's ear, and crooned. _"Yeah I've been feeling everything, from hate to love, from love to lust, from lust to truth. I guess that's how I know you. So, I hold you close to help you give it up._ "

Papa J laughed as Uncle Brian spun him in a series of small circles, and lead him into some intricate footwork until he was dizzy and Uncle Brian finished out the song out with a dip and a kiss.

And Jenny smiled, and vowed that one day; she'd find someone that made her smile the way Uncle Brian made Papa J smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Prompt:** B  & J at home and a slow song comes on the radio/stereo/iPod and Brian grabs Justin from doing the dishes or some other mundane thing and starts to slow dance with him while singing along to the lyrics in his ear.
> 
>  **Also FYI:** I may be off line for a couple of weeks due to RL issues; hopefully, this won't be the case, but I wanted to warn you now, just in case I can't post like I have been. But I'll keep writing these in my spare time and will post them when I get back. Sorry about that, but life always gets in the way of fun.


	71. March 10

**March 10**

Brian walked down the street, heading back to Kinnetik after lunch at the diner, only half-listening to the two idiots beside him debate which Twilight character was hotter – Edward or Jacob. He'd rolled his eyes and just stared at Emmett and Ted blandly when they'd asked his opinion, because did he look like a fucking 'tween girl? Like he gave a shit about either of the, frankly, annoyingly whiny characters.

The only reason he even knew what they were talking about was because Jenny's best friend, Maddie, was a fan, and had spent many an hour extolling the virtues of Edward when she'd spent a couple of days at Britin with Jenny this past summer. Jenny, thankfully, had a good head on her shoulders, and just rolled her eyes along with Brian, and sighed in annoyance whenever the topic came up.

Personally, Brian couldn't understand why people were still talking about what he'd heard were mediocre books at best, followed by even worse movies. After all, whenever your lead is embarrassed at having been a part of the project, you know something's wrong. Not that it seemed to matter to the twits at his side. They just kept right on debating it, with Emmet very decidedly for Jacob and Ted for Edward.

It was ridiculous; and he was ashamed to even be see with them, let alone admit that he considered them to be his friends.

Rolling his eyes again, Brian scanned the street, looking at the passersby and then froze, halting in his tracks when they landed on a familiar face. Ted and Emmett jostled into him, forcing him to move to the edge of the sidewalk, but that was all good with him as it meant he was able to get a better look at the man across the street.

"Is that?" Brian muttered to himself, finally catching the attention of his lunch companions, and forcing them to come to a halt beside him.

"Is that what?" Emmett asked, frowning at Brian's, likely, stunned expression; and then he turned, craning his head to see around someone walking in the street, and tried to figure out what Brian was looking at. "What are you staring at?"

"You see that guy over there?" Brian asked, walking a little way down the sidewalk, following the blond man when he too started to walk down the street.

"Yeah, wow, he could double for Baby on a good day," Emmett said, his voice filled with hushed awe as he followed Brian.

"So you're seeing it too?" Brian asked, looking over his shoulder at his companions; he was fairly certain that this was 'Blaine,' but he didn't want to bother the man if it wasn't.

"How could you miss it?" Ted said; he too seemed blown away by the similarities and that just cemented Brian's belief that this was the man they were looking for. "If I hadn't gotten a good look at the front of him, and realized that he wasn't pregnant, I would swear that was Justin. Hell, he could easily pass for him at a distance with the right clothes."

"Wait here, I need to speak to him," Brian said, holding his hand up as he crossed the street, quickening his pace so that he was almost jogging after the man, as he didn't want to lose him. "Blaine…Blaine Swanson!"

He called it out a few of times before getting a reaction, cementing his belief that it wasn't the man's true name; but he could immediately tell when the man realized Brian was talking to him as he seemed to freeze, and then he turned around slowly, his eyes widening as they landed on Brian. The color drained from his face, and then, he shook his head once, and then shook it again, and turned on his heel and ran through the gathered lunch crowd, quickly making his way down the street

"Shit!" Brian cursed under his breath, and then picked up his pace and gave chase, running as fast as he dared on the slick sidewalks in his dress shoes; but 'Blaine' not only had a head start, he also had better shoes and the crowd on his side as they meandered and wove in front of Brian, making him scream in frustration. "Get the fuck out of my way, you fucking assholes!"

People startled and then, realizing he was trying to get around them, finally started moving to the edges of the sidewalk, allowing Brian to pass. But it was of no use in the end; by the time he'd broken free of the crowd, 'Blaine' was long gone, taking with him any chance of Brian finding out more of that asshole that was stalking his husband.

"Fuck!" Brian cursed again, throwing his hands up in the air and then letting them fall to squeeze the side of his head in mounting frustration. He glared at the passersby that had stop to stare at him, sending them all scurrying back down the walk. Good, because right now, he so wasn't in the mood to deal with them. "Fucking assholes!"

Brian turned back to where he'd last seen Blaine, and looked up and down the street, frantically searching for a distinctive shade of blond hair; but as he'd already suspected, 'Blaine' wasn't anywhere to be seen. And then he mumbled self-deprecatingly to himself. "Well, of course, he isn't; what did you expect, Taylor-Kinney? That he'd greet you with open arms? He made the tip anonymously for a reason."

He huffed and then pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to get his breathing and temper under control as Emmett and Ted finally made their way up to him. Taking one last look around, he set off to meet the two of them, beyond irritated that he'd lost the trail of someone that could finally pin that asshole down.

"Brian," Emmett wheezed, and then took another deep breath as they continued walking down the street back towards his offices. "Jesus, you can move when you want to."

"What the hell was that about?" Ted asked; and he looked winded too. Although, considering that he'd been on paternity leave and spending all his time dealing with Luc, Blake and trying to find time to sleep, Brian couldn't fault him on it. Some things were just more important than the gym.

"Nothing," Brian bit out, not really wanting to get into it; not that he expected the peace to last for long given the two gossip queens at his side. Even now he could see them eyeing each other. "Don't worry about it." And amazingly, they didn't say anything at first, letting Brian stew. He couldn't believe he had been _that_ close. If only… "Fuck! If only those assholes hadn't gotten in my way, I would have had him."

"And this is a good thing?" Emmett asked; and, oh goody, the interrogation begins; Brian ignored the blatant digging for information. But again, Emmett and gossip? Like a fucking terrier with a bone. "You knew his name; that was surprising."

"I know him," Brian shrugged; he knew eventually he'd fill them in; if for no other reason than they could also keep an eye out for 'Blaine' and contact him if they run into him.

"Know him, or have had him?" Ted smirked, snickering when Brian glared at him; he really missed the days when Ted had been afraid of his temper.

Ted's newfound confidence after he started working at Kinnetik had been both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because he could take over a client meeting without even thinking about it and easily win over an account. But it was a curse because it meant that more often than not, he no longer feared Brian's wrath and would just roll his eyes at Brian's demands and walk out of his office without hesitation.

"Does it matter?" Brian asked, still hedging on giving them information, even though he knows that he can trust them to keep his confidence.

"Well, considering you were actually chasing your Justin clone down the street in front of everyone," Emmett said, arching a brow at him. "Something you would never do by the way; I'd say that yes, it very much matters. What is it with cute, little blonds with bubble butts that prompt you to chase them?"

And Brian couldn't help but smile a bit at that; because he knew that, while Emmett didn't actually believe that Brian was chasing the blond for nefarious reasons, he was making sure to watch out for Justin's interests. That was why, while he sighed at the idea of saying anything, he would do it anyways.

"I've been with him before," Brian admitted reluctantly, ignoring the ' _well, duh_ ' look that crossed both Emmett's and Ted's face. "A few times actually." And that bit garnered more of a reaction. "After Justin and I broke…ended things during the Rage-Party."

"Ohhhh," Emmett drew the word out and stared at Brian in surprise. Ted seemed equally astounded by the news. Brian pinched the bridge of his nose.

"And if either of you mention that to anyone, I will fucking end you," his hissed, glaring at them both, because like hell did he want that getting out; or _worse,_ getting back to Justin. While Justin was well aware that Brian had been tricking up a storm back then, he'd never known about the hustler.

And honestly, Brian still wasn't sure why he'd never told him. Although, back then it was likely because he was trying to save face; and then as time had passed, he'd actually forgotten all about 'Blaine. And while he wasn't planning to keep it from Justin, he wanted to make sure the news came from him, not his friends, or worse, a stranger.

"My lips are sealed, Big Bad," Emmett said, miming a zipping motion over his lips; Brian arched a brow at Ted, who nodded his agreement as Emmett continued. "I didn't hear a thing."

"So, you wanted to what?" Ted asked, looking a bit confused as to why that would matter. And it didn't accept for in the fact that it meant that someone had used 'Blaine' as a substitute for Justin just as he'd done. "Make sure that he kept his mouth shut?"

"He may have information on the stalker," Brian admitted quietly, looking around to make certain no one was nearby to hear him; he certainly did _not_ want to pull a Mikey and broadcast that news to the entire Avenue. Both Emmett and Ted sobered immediately at that news. "The detective working the case got a tip from someone that mentioned… that time."

"Shit," Ted cursed under his breath; he swiped a hand over his face as they walked through Kinnetik's doors, and made a beeline for Brian's office.

"Exactly," Brian stated softly, nodding at the random person walking through the halls. "They're trying to track him down to see if he could give them a sketch or additional information on the person. So, when I saw him…I don't know what I was thinking; I should have just called the detective. That would have been the smarter thing to do. Now, he's probably going to know that we're looking for him and… Fuck!"

"Well, maybe this will prompt him to get back in touch with the detective?" Emmett said in a hopeful voice, but his expression belied his tone. And maybe it would; but that wasn't really what was on Brian's mind at the moment. No, what he was thinking about was - what if the stalker had been around to see his little performance on the street?

"That's not the biggest problem," Brian huffed, throwing himself into his chair. "I should have…we know this asshole is watching us; what if he saw that? I could have just tipped him off without even thinking of the repercussions…"

"Hey," Emmett said, cutting him off with a no nonsense frown. "Don't think that way. You don't know that; and thinking that way will just drive you mad in the end."

They all stared at each other in silence, not sure what to say. And then Emmett grimaced, and looked ill about something.

"So, the stalker has been seeing…" Emmett began, testing the words out on his tongue.

"Fucking," Brian corrected him, cutting that thought short. Because from what he understood, it had only been a one time event; he could be wrong however. After all, it should have been a one time only event for him as well and it…hadn't been. Brian shuddered; he hated having anything in common with this asshole. "He fucked this guy, pretending that he was fucking Justin; you can say it."

"Well, that's not creepy at all," Emmett muttered, and then looked apologetic as he obviously was remembering what Brian had confessed to earlier. Brian just shrugged.

"Tell me about it," Brian muttered, looking at his phone; he'd tried messaging Justin again, hoping that unlike earlier today, his husband would answer him. But after nearly a minute of silence, Brian huffed. "And of course, the fucking twat isn't picking up his phone today."

Brian briefly considered calling Justin; but he knew that if Justin wasn't answering his texts, then his phone was likely shut off. And calling the house phone was pointless as Anna was usually doing the grocery shopping at this time. She couldn't answer it, and Justin wouldn't hear it if he was in his studio.

"Then go home," Ted said, shrugging when Brian looked at him incredulously.

"I can't," Brian huffed, looking at the growing pile of shit on his desk, and knowing that he had another three hours or more work to go, just to get through this. That didn't include the meeting he needed to have with Murph, and the conference call he had scheduled for ColdFusion Gelato. "I have a ton of shit…"

"That can be taken care of by me or Cynthia," Ted interrupted, one brow arched; and there it was again; his independence and confidence asserting itself as he all but ordered Brian to go home. He would have never had the balls to do that before. "So go home, and reassure yourself that Justin is fine."

And truthfully, Brian was almost willing to listen at this point, as he knew that he'd have trouble concentrating until he talked to the twat that wouldn't answer his fucking phone.

"It's your first day back…" Brian protested one last time, but it was weak at best; evident by the way Ted just smirked at his halfhearted excuse.

"Job security," Ted quipped, his eyes dancing with laughter as Brian flipped him off. "You can't fire me if you need me."

Brian rolled his eyes, but did grab the stack of files on his desk and began sorting through them, putting the ones that could be handled later, when he was at home, in his briefcase and handing off the ones that needed to immediate attention to Ted. He signed a couple of necessary purchase orders, and then he closed his briefcase and left before anyone had the chance to stop him.

**… … … … …**

Brian pulled up into the garage at Britin and then sat there for a minute after the mechanical door closed. He was surprised that Justin hadn't come out to investigate what was going on, but then decided that he was likely holed up in the studio or the nursery with his iPod buds in his ears, playing music at decibels that would drown out an elephant stampede, let alone the garage door.

He opened the door to the car, grabbed his briefcase and climbed out the car, closing the door and locking it with the fob. He walked swiftly over to the door, opened it and entered the house, the tension from earlier sliding away almost instantaneously. Setting his overcoat and briefcase aside, Brian cocked his head and followed the strains of soft music to the living room and then smiled to find Justin curled up on the couch, with an obscene number of pillows supporting his back.

Brian smiled as he watched Justin slowly and gently massaging stretch mark oil into his skin, his eyes closed as he hummed along with the music pouring out of his iPod speakers. He watched him for a moment, as Justin sang and talked quietly to Sunbeam; and it was so fucking adorable that Brian couldn't resist joining him.

Quietly walking over towards Justin, Brian took off his suit jacket and set it aside, and then unbuttoned the cuffs of his shirt and rolled them up. He dipped down and kissed the smile that told him that Justin had been aware of his presence from the beginning. Smiling in return, Brian pulled back and met Justin's eyes as they slowly slid open.

"You're beautiful, you know that?" Brian said, nuzzling his nose against Justin's, whose smile broadened until it was damn near blinding.

"You're home early," Justin murmured, pressing a soft kiss to his jaw, and then biting him playfully on the chin. "What's the occasion?"

"I just needed to see you," Brian shrugged, knowing his answer hadn't really reassured Justin, but he really didn't want to get into it right now. "Scoot forward; let me do that."

Justin just sent him a look that said they would be talking about it later, and then moved forward enough space to allow Brian to slide in behind him. Brian kicked off his shoes and then climbed onto the coach, positioning his legs on either side of Justin's hips. Justin scooted back and leaned up against Brian's chest, humming happily when Brian slicked up his hands with oil and took over his massage.

"Mmmm…that feels so good," Justin sighed, tipping his head back against Brian's shoulder. Brian smiled and kissed just under Justin's jaw. "I love when you do that."

Brian continued to massage his stomach, running through the various exercises that the masseuse taught him, interspersing it with kisses along Justin's neck and jaw, and caresses over his chest and arms, until Justin was warm and pliant against him. Pressing a kiss to the lobe of Justin's ear, Brian finished the massage up before sliding hands down toward the waistband of Justin's track pants.

"Me too," Brian confessed softly, sliding his hands down into Justin's pants, drawing a low moan from his lips as Brian palmed his cock with one hand and rolled his balls in the other. "But I always love anything that gives me free access to your body."

"I don't think that _this_ was part of the massage techniques they taught you," Justin teased, his voice going breathy as Brian continued to slide his fingers along and over Justin's bare cock and balls, the lingering oil on his hands easing the way.

"I'm improvising," Brian smirked, slipping his fingers past Justin's balls to tease along the perineum, his dick already hardening at the thought of Justin riding him just like this.

"I do so love when you get creative," Justin purred, groaning as Brian pushed his track pants down far enough that he could kick them off, leaving him completely bare from the waist down; and soon to be totally nude as soon as Brian got his shirt off.

"Well, then," Brian said, shoving his dark thoughts from earlier away as his hands roamed over his husband's body. "I should get started on that then.

And Brian did just that, playing his husband's body like a fine instrument, enjoying every sigh, cry and gasp that spilled over his lips. He'd tell Justin about the hustler later. Right now, he just wanted feel Justin's body against his and know that nothing could take this man from him.


	72. March 11

**March 11**

Justin lazily leafed through the Art Forum magazine on his lap, but wasn't paying it much mind as he was far too tired and content to focus on actually reading it. In fact, the only reason that he'd even picked it up in the first place was that there was an article in it written by Lindsay's _dear friend_ Simon Caswell; and he couldn't help but wonder what young, hot thing he was talking up this time.

Mostly, so that he could tell the kid to steer clear of the dickwad; Caswell was bad news all around and he didn't want some poor idiot with stars in his eyes getting sucked into his bullshit. It wasn't a good place to be, and Justin would happily sponsor the kid himself just so he could stick it to cunty Simon, like he had with the last two unknowns Simon tried to drain dry.

Frowning, Justin set the magazine aside and shook those thoughts off, preferring to focus on something much more productive. Nothing good came of remembering those first few weeks in New York. Plus, if he started thinking about it, he'd get pissed and then Brian would notice and want to know why; and that was a can of worms he didn't want to open right now. Especially since they'd been having such a good evening so far.

Justin stretched and sighed; and then he bent over and pick up his laptop, so that he could do some work on his show. Thankfully, he'd finished and sent off his last two pieces yesterday, having taken a little more time with them due to the show being postponed. But he still had to put some notes together about why he'd chosen to do pastels instead of his typical oils and write down a little information on each piece for Sydney.

It was all pretty tedious, but necessary work, given that his opening was in four days; or would it be three now? Well, since the show was opening on the fifteenth. He really couldn't put it off any longer. And since Brian was busy working on an account, Justin figured that there was no time like the present to finish it up and send it off.

He worked steadily for the next twenty minutes or so, enjoying the quiet camaraderie between he and Brian; sometimes it was nice to just be in the same room with each other, even if they weren't talking. And then, when Justin was nearly finished editing the file for the second time, Brian cleared his throat and looked up from his screen. Justin lifted his head and looked up at him, wondering what he needed.

"So, I heard a name that I kind of liked yesterday," Brian said out o the blue, before looking back at his screen again. Justin was a little surprised that he was bringing it up, when typically Brian just added the names onto their growing list; but maybe he wanted Justin's opinion of it?

"Oh?" Justin asked, looking back down at his screen as well, and fixing a bit of awkward wording in one of the pastel descriptions. "What was it?"

"Well, before you get your back up, it was from a book series that someone was talking about," Brian said, instantly putting Justin on guard; he really hated the idea of naming his kid after some pop culture phenomenon that wouldn't age well. "Although, I didn't catch the name of the series they were discussing."

"Brian," Justin huffed and pinched the bridge of his nose "You know how I feel about…"

"I'm not saying we should take the full name of the character," Brian interrupted, sending Justin a ' _give me some credit_ ' look. "But I did like the first name and it has the advantage of sounding gender-neutral, which is what we've been looking at right?"

Justin chewed on his bottom lip, instantly wanting to put his foot down on the sheer principle of it; but, Brian seemed so earnest about it, and really, it wouldn't hurt to find out what name he'd taken a liking to if nothing else.

"Sure," Justin said hesitantly; and then he sighed and shrugged when he couldn't come up with a good reason not to consider it. "I suppose that if I were to rule out names from pop culture, we'd never find a suitable name. What is it; we can always put it on the list."

"Quil," Brian said, typing something into his laptop for a moment, and then cocked his head before shaking it and deleting whatever he'd just written. "Only one L in it from what I understand."

"Quil?" Justin said slowly, watching Brian with no little amount of confusion; that name struck a chord in him for some reason, and it wasn't a pleasant one. Where had he heard that name again? He couldn't figure it out, so he decided to just ask Brian. "Where did you hear it again?"

"Oh, some conversation that Emmett and Theodore were having yesterday," Brian said a bit absently, still typing away. "They were debating the hotness of the male characters of some movie series that was based on a young adult novel series."

Justin furrowed his brow, running that new information through his head over and over again; it sounded familiar and something about it was setting off an alarm in his head, but he couldn't figure out why. The name didn't stand out like Katniss had.

"And they recommended it to you," Justin said, a bit concerned; because he knew Em and his addiction to young adult novels, and he had to be trying to slip something past Justin.

"Yeah, they mentioned it was some series that had vampires and werewolves; and there was some sort of love triangle in it revolving around a human girl that had accidentally discovered their world?" Brian said, shrugging his shoulders.

Justin's eyes widened in horror, because no fucking way! There was no way in hell that was going to happen on his watch. Hell would freeze over before he allowed his child to be named by anyone in that particular series no matter how small the part.

" _Did_ they?" Justin asked, his lips compressing into a thin line; he and Emmett _really_ needed to have discussion about appropriate names for _his_ child. "And you didn't find anything odd with that?"

"No," Brian said, looking at him blankly; and Justin was pretty sure that he had no idea what series the name came from, but you could never tell with Brian. "Should I have?"

"No, not at all," Justin said, still watching his husband warily; he just had this niggling feeling that he was missing something; he just didn't know what. "It just sounds strikingly familiar and wondered if you might know where it came from."

"That's all I know," Brian said, nonplussed.

"Right," Justin said doubtfully, shaking his head as he pretended to take notation of the name for Brian's benefit. "I'll put it on the list."

 _And then I will promptly forget about it as there is no way in hell I'm naming our child after a fucking Twilight character. Because seriously, Quil?_ He and Emmett needed to have a very long talk about not foisting his favorite character names on Brian.

"Put down the name Quinn as well," Brian continued, and that brought Justin up short again, because Quinn just wasn't a name he could ever see Brian going for.

"Why Quinn?" Justin asked, once again wary about this particular name for some reason. But, again like Quil, he couldn't place his finger on it.

"Well, it's similar to Quil," Brian said, and Justin swore he saw a small smile flit across his face at that point, but it came and went so fast he wasn't sure; especially as Brian was staring at his screen at the time and could have just been happy with what he was working on. "Plus it also has the whole gender-neutral name thing going on."

"Where did you get that one?" Justin asked with a frown, giving up any pretense of looking through his document by this point, and simply staring at his husband.

"I overheard it on the TV when I was dropping Gus off one night," Brian said, typing something on the computer, and then clicking his mouse as if he was sending it off; he frowned and looked at the stack of papers next to his computer as he explained. "Jenny was watching some show that had a bunch of singing on it and they mentioned some character by the name of Quinn. I didn't catch the name of the show and I can't remember what the last name was."

"Was it Fabray, by any chance?" Justin asked, his face growing a bit pinched, because again, no. Just no. He didn't mind the show; it was entertaining, but he could just imagine how many fucking Quinns and Finns and Rachels were already going to be running around Sunbeam's school, and no.

"Um…maybe?" Brian asked, cocking his head to the side as he thought about it; and then shrugged again. "That sounds familiar?"

Justin gritted his teeth, but didn't say anything, pointedly _not_ making a notation of it in his computer this time. Because no. Instead he just steadily worked on the file for Sydney; and if Brian thought that he was writing these names down, then what he didn't know, wouldn't hurt him in this case. But it didn't stop the hackles from rising because _Quil_ and _Quinn_? _Really?_

He felt as if he were missing something for sure at this point, but he didn't know what. It made no sense to him that Brian would come up with these names out of the blue. Justin had had a hard enough time with Brian accepting the name Lea because it was too close to Leah from Star Wars. (And yes, he realized just how hypocritical his stance was given the name was of a currently popular actress, but it was pretty and a potential middle name, not a first name. There was a difference.) So, why on Earth was Brian was coming up with all these names now?

Someone had to be feeding them to him; it was the only explanation. And if he found out that Emmett had played a part, he was so going to kill him because he knew how Justin felt about the whole fictional name for his kid bit.

"And since we're on names," Brian said, startling Justin out of his thoughts and instantly setting him on edge. "I did have one last one that I was considering."

"Is it Arwen by any chance?" Justin asked sarcastically, making Brian snort; well, at least _that_ one he recognized.

"Uh, no," Brian snickered, a devilish glint in his eyes. "But feel free to jot that down if you must."

"I think I'll pass," Justin huffed, still fuming that someone was trying to fuck with his child by giving them some god awful 'tween book series name.

"Suit yourself," Brian shrugged, leaning back into the back of the couch; he patiently waited for Justin to finish what he was doing, and when it became obvious that he wasn't going to let this go, Justin groaned internally and looked up.

"So, what name am I writing down now?" Justin asked, picking up a pen to mime writing it down, even though he had no intention of doing so at this point. Something was just off about this entire situation and he was determined to figure it out.

"Francis." Brian said with a smirk.

Justin narrowed his eyes and stared at his husband incredulously. _He wanted what?_

"Francis?" Justin asked skeptically, not buying it for one moment.

"Yup," Brian nodded, a placid smile on his face; which just ratcheted Justin's suspicions up another notch. "Another one of those gender-neutral names."

_Francis? Francis!? You want to name our child Francis? Who the fuck are you? And what have you done with my husband?_

"Dare I ask where you got that from?" Justin asked, casting a mistrustful glance Brian's way. Brian just grinned, his eyes sparkling with mischief.

"No one puts Baby in the corner," Brian quoted seriously; and then doubled over laughing when Justin squawked incredulously.

_Oh, no he didn't! He did not just go where he thought he did!_

But Brian just continued to laugh, his laptop sliding onto the couch as he tried to get his breath back, and Justin realized that the asshole had been playing him the entire time!

"You…" Justin spluttered, realizing now that Emmett and Ted had nothing to do with this, but it had all been his husband's doing. "You… you asshole! I thought you were being serious there for a minute! I can't believe that you…"

"Oh, I am, Sunshine," Brian said, the picture of innocence, before doubling over and laughing again. "Seriously fucking with you, that is. Oh my God, your face when I kept suggesting those names. It was priceless. I wish I had a picture of that."

"You are such a dick," Justin groused, scowling at his screen; not that it did any good, because Brian just kept laughing at him. "I was getting ready to revoke your child naming privileges until you acquired some better taste. Quil…where the fuck did you even get that; he's not a well known character."

"I looked up various character lists for the most obnoxious shows or books I could find and then grabbed the names that were gender-neutral," Brian smirked, still chuckling every now and then, especially when Justin cursed under his breath.

"Such an asshole," Justin grumbled, shaking his head as he sent the file to Sydney.

"That's what you get for your little triplets prank a couple of weeks ago," Brian said, an amused smile on his face. Justin flipped him off.

"Oh, you're going to pay for that, Kinney!" Justin promised, already trying to come up with a suitable comeuppance. But his mind was a drawing a blank at the moment.

"That's Taylor-Kinney, Sunshine," Brian corrected, snickering when Justin bared his teeth and growled at him. "Just admit it; I got you good."


	73. March 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, the good news is, while RL is still making it difficult to get any writing done earlier in the day, the issue that I thought would take me away for a couple of weeks is no longer an issue. So, you'll get your daily posts, but they may continue to be late for a while. Well, late in my head anyways. Thanks for hanging in there and to those who extended well wishes. You guys are awesome!

**March 12 – (27 weeks)**

Brian sat back on the couch, watching Justin connect his laptop into the TV and fiddle with the cables, and wondered how he had gotten to this point in his life. The point where he was actually conceding to watch birth class videos with his husband rather than going out and sucking and fucking the night away like he'd expected to do for the rest of his life. That is, until he found a certain little, blond twat standing under a street lamp and took him home with him nearly fourteen years ago.

He knew he should have skipped the ' _are you coming and staying_ ' option; because had he done that, he now wouldn't be facing twenty-three agonizing minutes of some woman explaining labor basics to him and his husband. Why anyone would actually need twenty-three minutes to explain what seemed like common sense to him, he didn't know, but the brat he'd married insisted that they do so just to make sure they didn't miss anything of importance.

"That should do it," Justin said, walking over and curling up on the couch with his laptop; he quickly clicked on the internet icon and navigated to the Baby Watch site that he'd become obsessed with soon after finding out he was pregnant. "Do you need to get anything before we get started?"

"NoDoz?" Brian quipped, yelping when Justin jabbed him in the ribs with one of his fucking pointy elbows. "What is it with you and my fucking ribs? Can't you aim for something else once in a while and give them a chance to heal before you go bruising them up again?"

"Are you sure you want to give me that kind of leeway?" Justin smirked, arching a brow as he pulled up the first video.

"Sure," Brian said, smirking when Justin looked at him in surprise. "Because I know damned well you'd never injure _that_ , Sunshine. You like having access to it too much to ever aim down there unless you were seriously pissed off."

"Are you trying to say that you'll withhold sex if I were to do that?" Justin scoffed.

"No," Brian snorted; because him withhold sex? Please; like he would punish _himself_ that way. "But if you used your pointy, little elbows rather than your mouth on my dick, Sunshine, it won't matter how much either of us wanted to have sex. It just won't be happening for a while."

"Point," Justin conceded, and then he turned back to his laptop and the video that Brian so did not want to see, but was watching because he liked his dick right where it was. "So today's 'class' is twenty-three minutes long and broken up into eight videos."

"Likely keeping in mind the numerous bathroom breaks that you'll need to make during it," Brian snickered, diving out of the way when Justin made to elbow him again. "What, you know I'm right. Honestly, you're in the bathroom more than any other room these days."

"Asshole," Justin huffed, throwing a couch cushion at his head. "I'd like to see how you would deal with Sunbeam using your bladder like a trampoline."

"Now, now, Sunshine," Brian teased, sliding back over to Justin and dropping a kiss on the top of his head. "Don't get cranky."

"I'll show you cranky." Justin muttered, and then clicked the video. "Let's get this over with then; no more trying to distract me."

Brian briefly considered challenging that statement and seeing just how long he _could_ distract Justin from the birth class videos, but then decided that it would be more trouble than it was worth. Not only would he still have to watch them at a later date; he would also have to deal with a pissy Sunshine, and that was _so_ not fun. So he turned to the TV with a skeptical look and sighed; as Justin said, might as well get it over with.

* * *

**What is labor really like?**

Brian snorted as the title flashed across the screen, drawing Justin's reproving glare his way; well, they were off to a good start. He could already sense that he was going to end up hating this entire process, especially when the perky so-called birth class expert came onto the screen and introduced herself.

" _Hi, I'm Edith Bradenbury, editor in chief of Baby Watch and a mom…_ " the woman said, and then prattled on a bit about how she was just so happy that they decided to take Baby Watch's classes and what the classes were about.

"That's it?" Brian asked, frowning when no credentials followed her claim to fame. That really didn't sit well with him as, if this woman was supposed to be their instructor, he'd hope she had a few letters to follow her name. Even if the script had been written by a doctor; it was all about presentation and reassuring your audience. "That's the sum total of her credentials? Well, that's reassuring."

"Hush you," Justin shushed him, dismissing Brian's concerns with a wave of his hand as he continued to watch the screen. "I can't hear the video."

"Well then, by all means," Brian said dryly, snickering when Justin frowned. "We wouldn't want to miss her _expert_ advice."

Justin rolled his eyes, but didn't bother to respond. Brian just shook his head and turned back to the video, snorting once again when the woman decided to state the obvious once more. Seriously, who wrote these scripts? Whoever it was, they _really_ needed to be fired.

" _There are some important things to know_ ," Edith said in a calm, measured tone, as if she were expecting the viewers to run screaming from the room at any minute. " _And some choices you might want to make ahead of time_."

"Actually, I figured we could wing it," Brian quipped, smirking when Justin threw another pillow his way. "People have been doing this for years without classes, after all."

"Shut up, Brian," Justin huffed, but the corner of his mouth twitched, so he too had to realize just how silly this entire thing was.

" _Some of the most common questions that moms-to-be-ask are – what will labor be like? Will it be the worst pain I've ever felt? And can I really do this?_ " Edith paused for impact and smiled warmly at the camera. " _Yes, you can do it…_ "

"See that, Sunshine?" Brian nudged Justin in the side and then turned toward him with wide eyes and exclaimed. "You can do it!"

"Are you just going to sit here and mock the entire video?" Justin asked, but he was obviously fighting back his own smile at the twee video.

"Probably," Brian said, an unrepentant smirk on his face; Justin just shook his head and continued to torture himself by paying attention to Edith, while Brian paid only enough attention to get the general gist of it.

Labor is different for everyone…blah, blah, blah… people have different levels of pain tolerance... blah, blah. There are three ways to give birth…yadda, yadda… and most births take between 6-24 hours. Brian paused on that long enough to pray Justin was one of those on the shorter time side, because otherwise he was fucked. And not in the fun, life-affirming way. And apparently first time pregnancies take longer than second time pregnancies. Great. He was fucking doomed from the start.

The video ended with some ' _real_ ' mom testimonials, reaffirming everything in that Edith had shared in the video and then ended on the peppy note that, ' _yes, you can do this too!_ ' Brian just shook his head and prayed that the rest weren't like this otherwise he'd never last.

"So kiddies, what we learned today is…" Brian paused to mime a drum roll, making Justin snort. "Is that birth, no matter the strength, is going to hurt and it will take a long ass time. So, basically what every carrier has been telling us since the beginning of time. I feel so much more informed."

"You're such an ass," Justin laughed, shaking his head as he pulled up the next video.

"Sunshine," Brian huffed, looking at the TV with trepidation. "We could have learned more from watching Animal Planet. Please tell that was all for today."

"Nope," Justin said, a sadistic grin on his face; and Brian had a feeling that this was payback for his little joke yesterday and his smart-ass commentary through the first video. "We still have six or seven more videos to go today."

"Joy," Brian deadpanned, staring at the screen as the video began to play.

* * *

**Should I choose a doctor or a midwife?**

"Well, we've already chosen a doctor, so we can skip this one, right?" Brian said hopefully, knowing full well that Justin wasn't about to cave despite the fact they had no need for this information.

"Most people have by this point, but it may hold information we haven't considered, so no," Justin stated mildly, a shit-eating grin on his face.

Brian narrowed eyes at the giggling twat; well, that just confirmed his suspicions that the little brat was going to make him suffer through _every_ one of these damned things whether they needed them or not.

And really, he'd been right. Because Edith walked them through the various options, interspersed with ' _real_ ' mom testimonials on their choices and why they made them. Which was all well and good, if they had actually been trying to decide between a doctor and a midwife; but since Justin was scheduled for a cesarean because of his doctor's earlier concerns with his blood pressure, it was pointless.

"Well, that was a waste of time," Brian commented, arching a brow at Justin.

"Brian…" Justin huffed, looking at him with exasperation.

"Justin," Brian said, a serious expression on his face for the first time. "You're scheduled for a c-section due to the fact that your blood pressure is still higher than they like. That means doctor, period. There was no point to watching that."

"I know," Justin frowned and shrugged, hating to be reminded of the continued health concern; and then he smirked, a devilish glint entering his eyes as he tried to lighten the mood. "Maybe next time you'll stop being a smart-ass."

And Brian just stared at him, and then turned away, muttering under his breath about unreasonable twats that lived to make his life hell. Justin just giggled and pulled up the next video. The little shit.

It just went downhill from there.

* * *

**Where do most carriers give birth?**

"Didn't we already cover this?" Brian asked immediately, because he could have sworn that they'd already covered this topic.

"No," Justin said, his eyes wide and innocent, and Brian just snorted at his obvious lie. "They were just talking about the kind of practitioner that most people use."

"No way, Sunshine," Brian argued, scrubbing a hand through his hair as he stared balefully at the screen. "I heard it. The last one said that most carriers choose to give birth with a doctor, _in a hospital_. Do we really need to watch a whole video on the delivery venue?"

"They'll likely cover the actual birthing suite," Justin blithely said, a serene smile on his face. Fucking little shit was just dragging this out now to torture Brian. "So yes."

"I thought that was what our little tour was for," Brian said, eyeing his snickering husband with no little amount of exasperation.

"You can't have too much information for the day of," Justin stated solemnly; and then he snickered when Brian just stared at him like he'd grown another head.

"Pause this," Brian groused, tossing the pillow in his lap aside and making to stand because if he had to go through this, he wasn't doing it sober. "I need some Beam to get through this."

" _Sit_ your _ass_ down," Justin huffed, dragging him back onto the couch and sitting on his lap for good measure. "If I can't have Beam to get through this, neither can you."

And that was just unfair; but Brian sat back and wrapped his arms around Justin, pulling him against his chest as the video began to play.

" _Nearly all carriers in the United States give birth in hospitals_ …" Edith said pointing to a chart that showed that ninety-nine percent were hospital births, making Brian snort.

"Well, that's a surprise," Brian deadpanned, grunting when Justin hissed and planted his elbow into Brian's stomach this time. "I'm so glad I watched this video; otherwise I never would have guessed that."

The video covered the most common places that carriers went to give birth – the hospital, birth centers and at home; and the benefits and drawbacks of all three. But it was, again, a pointless waste of time, as anyone with even half of a functioning brain cell could have figured it all out for themselves without watching an inane video.

"Well, that was two-and-a-half minutes I'll never get back from my life..." Brian huffed, grabbing Justin's arms and pinning him against his chest this time to save his body from further abuse.

* * *

 **Using a Doula as a Labor Coach** :

"We should invest in one of those, Sunshine," Brian said as soon as the title flashed on the screen, just knowing that Justin would hate the idea and wanting to get a little of his own back for being forced to watch these mindless videos.

"Oh, hell no," Justin immediately spat, turning around to glare at him. "You are not getting out of this, buster! If I have to deal with it, so do you."

"Actually," Brian said, fixing his face into a mask of innocence. "I was thinking of the times I'd be lying on the floor crying because you'd managed to get lucky kick, punch, hit or pinch in. This way there is someone to seamlessly step in while I recovered."

Justin snorted and rolled his eyes; well aware of the pile of bullshit that Brian was spouting.

"Pinch?" Justin asked, arching a brow.

"You have a wicked grip, Sunshine," Brian said, wiggling his brows, and delighting when Justin flushed at the reminder of the other night. "I've had bruises for days after you got through with me. Not that I was complaining."

"Why does everything come back to sex with you?" Justin asked, shaking his head in despair.

"Why are you even asking that question?" Brian countered, staring at Justin as if he couldn't believe that was even a question that needed to be asked. "I swear, some days it's like you don't even know me."

"Whatever," Justin huffed and clicked play on the video; but Brian was barely even paying attention to them anymore as he'd yet to find anything useful.

" _A doula may act as your main support, tag-team with your partner or just guide your partner on how to help you…_ " Edith said with a supportive smile, and Brian smirked.

"See?" he pointed out to Justin, who just rolled his eyes again. "Even she gets it. This is actually the most informative video we've seen so far."

"Actually, I'm just going to invite my mother in with us so she can keep you in line." Justin said in all seriousness, making Brian blanch at the idea. Because as much as he loved Mother Taylor, that just sounded like a disaster waiting to happen.

"Can't we have Deb?" Brain asked plaintively; and then paused and shuddered at his own suggestion. What on Earth was he thinking? It had to be the videos; their inanity were slowly eradicating all trace of his common sense.

"No." Justin shuddered along with him; and thank God one of them had been thinking. "God no, I need someone there that will remain calm and keep _me_ calm, not make me want to kill them. It insures your survival."

* * *

**5 Signs that you're in labor...**

"Don't say it," Justin huffed, holding up one hand in an obvious effort to cut off any comment Brian could have made when the title came up.

"Say what?" Brian asked, all faux innocence; to which Justin just snorted and shot him a _'get real'_ look. Brian shrugged. "I didn't say a thing."

"I know you," Justin said, pointing an accusing finger in his face; which Brian promptly bit. "I just know you had something sarcastic to say about the video; I was preempting it."

"Please, Sunshine," Brian said, releasing Justin's finger with a guileless smile. "Have a little faith."

"Oh, I have faith alright," Justin snorted and cast him a knowing look. "Faith that you'll find something snarky to say about the title."

"I'm hurt," Brian said, pressing his hand against his chest in mock dismay; and then shrugged and smiled slyly. "Although, now that you mention it…I would have thought that the screaming and the spousal abuse would be an excellent sign." He paused for effect. "The ' _I've got to take a shi_ t' grimace would be a dead giveaway as well."

"See!" Justin exclaimed, poking Brian in the stomach. "I knew you were going to say something like that."

"Well, as you've always said since you were seventeen, Sunshine," Brian laughed, pressing a kiss to his husband's flushed cheek. "You _are_ on to me."

Justin grinned and then started the video, that Brian really could have happily lived the rest of his life having never seen, because ick. The baby dropping information wasn't bad, although he couldn't resist teasing Justin when it mentioned that, while dropping in the pelvis meant he would breathe easier, he would also likely have to pee more often.

"Is that even possible at this point?" he asked, dodging the pillow that flew up into his face. "I swear you spend more combined time in the bathroom daily than a teenage girl does getting ready for prom."

And then they covered Braxton Hicks contractions, which Brian didn't really care about as he'd already heard _all_ about them from Lindsay. But the cervix ripening part, when the cervix begins to soften, thin and open to get ready for birth? That he could have done without.

"Well," Brian said, scrunching his nose in disgust; and he couldn't help noting that Justin wasn't looking all that happy himself. "That sounds pleasant."

But it was when Edith was sharing the joys of the passing of the mucus plug – that bit of thickened mucus that seals the cervix during the pregnancy – that he really got a bit squeamish. Especially when she described that it may come out in the form of a lump or discharge after the cervix ripens.

"Gross," was his only assessment of that; as, in truth, he was trying to repress the information for his own sanity.

And then she talked about the water breaking – when the fluid from when the amniotic sack ruptures and then comes out in a continuous trickle up until birth – and Brian was done.

"What?" Justin teased, obviously taking great delight in Brian's squeamishness. "Nothing smart to say this time?"

"I'm blocking it out at this point or I'll never want to have sex again," Brian declared; and it was amazing how quickly the little twat switched videos after that.

* * *

**What do contractions feel like?**

"They hurt like fuck?" was Brian's opening sally; not even waiting for Edith to start talking as he couldn't even believe that this was even a topic. Especially given the fact that they'd already covered that pain and contractions were relative to the person.

He braced himself, waiting for a pointy elbow to embed itself into some part of his body, but Justin remained suspiciously quiet. So quiet in fact, that it was creeping Brian out. So, he poked him and when he _still_ didn't get a response, he decided to comment further in the hope of getting him to react.

"What, not going to say anything?" Brian challenged, snickering when Justin glared at him over his shoulder.

"No, because I kind of agree that this seems pointless," Justin stated between gritted teeth; and Brian had to laugh at how utterly annoyed his husband sounded having to admit that.

"Ha!" Brian cried triumphantly, making Justin scowl. "I knew you would slowly come over to the dark side." Brian paused as Justin's scowl deepened and then he leaned over and whispered. "We have Twinkies…"

"Ohhhh," Justin growled, picking up a pillow and beating him over the head with it; all the while Brian just laughed at him. "You did not just go there."

"Yes," Brian smugly said in between laughs. "Yes, I did."

"Asshole," Justin huffed and turned back around to start the next video, but he definitely didn't seem to be as into them as he'd first had been.

* * *

**How to Time Contractions**

Brian stared at the title a little flummoxed because, what? Justin looked equally perplexed, his mouth opening and shutting as if he didn't know what to say to that.

"With a watch?" Brian asked, trying not to laugh at his own bewilderment.

Justin snorted, and then clasped his hands over his mouth in an attempt to stave off the giggles that were building up inside of him. So, of course, Brian had to poke at that.

"Was that not correct?" Brian deadpanned, looking at Edith as if she would give him the answer to his quandary. "Was the answer kumquat?"

Justin slapped his hand over his forehead and leaned over, a loud belly laugh ripping from his lips at the question. And then he leaned back, and rested his head against Brian's shoulder as he continued to laugh helplessly at the inanity of it all. Brian started laughing himself, unable to resist the infectiousness of Justin's laughter. Although, he did manage to sober long enough to get one last quip in.

"I do like the Zen background music though. It makes me feel like ' _I can do this!'_ " Brian said, pumping his fist into the air.

Justin just kept right on laughing, swiping his hands over his eyes to clear them of tears as he slumped into the couch, his cheeks rosy with mirth and his body convulsing with each new wave of laughter that washed over him. And in reality, they had to put of the last video off until after Justin got his laughter under control, and then ran to the bathroom so he wouldn't literally pee his pants laughing.

* * *

**In Labor? When to Call the Doctor or Midwife**

After about fifteen minutes, they finally managed to finish out the series, but neither of them where taking it very seriously anymore. Even Justin, who had held out for as long as he possibly could, wasn't able to work up much enthusiasm when the last title came across the TV screen. He just looked resigned to the inevitable.

"Well," Brian said, rolling his lips between his teeth as he stared at the title. "I would hope that it was before the baby pops out and says hello, but what the hell do I know?"

"Didn't they just say this with their 5-1-1 rule?" Justin huffed, shaking his head and trying to figure out why this was being addressed in a separate video when it had already been discussed in the previous one. "Wait until they are five minutes apart, one minute long and have continued that way for an hour?"

"You were listening, Sunshine!" Brian said, patting his husband on the head; Justin flipped him off. "Gold star! Go to the top of the class."

"I can't believe I wasted twenty-three minutes of my life on this," Justin huffed, shutting the laptop down with no little amount of disgust and then walking towards the door. "I need a fucking Twinkie."

"I'm right behind you, Sunshine," Brian said as he scrambled off of the couch and followed Justin out of the media room and up the stairs to the kitchen. "Just make mine a Beam."

"What, you're not going to stop me?" Justin snorted, looking incredulously over his shoulder.

"No, you earned one after sticking that out," Brian snorted, grabbing a tumbler out of the cupboard and pouring himself two fingers of Beam. Justin snorted and grabbed his precious box of faux-Twinkies and took two of them out before flopping into a chair. "Just don't get used to it. It's a one time concession only."

"We'll just see about that." Justin said, defiantly biting into both before Brian could even react, and then just smiling like the smug little twat that he was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The 'videos' in this vignette were modeled off of the Birth Class videos found on Baby Center. And while I made fun of them, they are a good source of information if you haven't done your research yet, or are just beginning your baby journey. This was not meant to mock them or put them down in general; but I was viewing them through Brian's eyes, and I just couldn't take them seriously after that. NO offense is intended towards the creators of the videos; this was all in good fun.


	74. March 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, again I have to apologize for my abrupt departure. On Tuesday evening, I developed a migraine, which lasted through early Thursday morning, and then I spent all of yesterday, catching up on sleep due to it. As a result, I didn't write a damned thing until today. So, my plan is to write and post two vignettes today (which I did), tomorrow, and Sunday in the hope of catching up to my outline. Sorry for skipping out on you. And I hope you enjoy the next installments.

**March 13**

He stood in a shadowed corner, observing the frantic scurrying going on around him as the workers set up for his beloved's show, practically invisible. Part of it was due to the hustle and bustle around him; with too many unknowns – the caterers, the docents, and the maintenance crew – running about and setting up for this weekend's opening, it was easy to get lost in the crowd. With this many people, it was difficult to notice one extra person loitering. And if he had been noticed, he was wearing nondescript enough clothing that he didn't stand out, and the person usually shrugged it off and thought he was a part of one of the other crews.

But the biggest part of it was that he'd gotten very good at _making_ himself invisible to the rest of the world; just as he liked it these days. While at one time, he would've loved the idea of everyone's eyes on him, watching him, admiring him; since the accident that had, not only taken away his memories and altered his face, but left him with a noticeable limp if he wasn't careful, he'd preferred to stay in the shadows.

They not only sheltered him from public ridicule; but they also allowed him to get closer to his beloved than if he'd decided to stand in the light. And for him, that was so much more important. Being near Justin had been all he'd ever wanted from the first time he'd seen his face. Blond and beautiful, he'd made him think of fallen angels; and although his reaction to his love's beauty had frightened him to a degree due to the power it had over him, he'd still been drawn in like a moth to a flame.

How could he not be?

For one so young, he had a passion and intensity that had captivated him and a zeal for life that had left him breathless. He was undaunted and fearless; and watching him create his art, was like watching him splash his soul onto canvas or paper or to imprint it into clay or stone or whatever medium he chose, for all the world to see and admire. And he'd often felt jealous of those little nuggets that he shared with the world as they should _only_ belong to someone who cherishes him; like him.

Not that he had the chance to be near his love these days; Kinney, the unworthy asshole, had seen to that.

He'd been foolish, lashing out at Kinney the way he had through the painting and the loft, trying to erase all evidence of him in his beloved's life. He should have been much more circumspect as he had been during the previous years he'd watched and waited. At least then, he had been able to move freely around Justin; he had even spoken to him from time to time, with little concern because they'd _never_ been aware of his presence.

And he'd _hated_ that with every fiber of his being, but it had been enough for a time; just being able to bask in those sweet, bright smiles and that scent clung to him (something that he'd desperately tried to recreate with the others, but could never get quite right). To hear his voice, and feel the softness of his skin as their hands touched – it had been intoxicating. Even if the moments had been short-lived as he'd moved onto the next patron; or worse, to the asshole who could never love him the way he was meant to be loved.

It had been fine, if a bit unfulfilling, for a few years; and then the rumors that Kinney had knocked up his Prince had started on Liberty Avenue. Oh, how the queens had excitedly gossiped about the King and his Prince Consort and the coming Prince or Princess of Liberty Ave; they'd been overjoyed, discussing every little sign that pointed to it. And each and every word had sliced into him like a knife, and wound him tighter and tighter until finally, something inside him snapped.

Because _how dare_ this unworthy bastard impregnate someone so pure and beautiful and meant for far greater things in life than to be some asshole's brood mare?

But even then, it wasn't until it was confirmed; that he had seen his love walking around, glowing in a way that told the world that he was carrying a new life, that his heart had shattered. Because this baby, this _parasite_ , this _leech_ , would bind him to Kinney in way that he'd never hope to bind his love. And it had _enraged_ him to the point where all he'd seen was red and that had led him to unwisely striking out against the object of his pain.

Kinney was an asshole who hadn't even cared about, hadn't even appreciated his beautiful love in the beginning. Everyone knew the story of Kinney and his Prince; the little, blond twink who came into his life one night, and had completely tilted his world on its axis. They spoke of it with hushed awe and soft sighs at how romantic it had been that this blond had never given up on him, but slowly whittled away all of his walls until Kinney finally couldn't deny his feelings any longer.

And wasn't it just _so sweet_ that Kinney had bought him a palace? A place where he could house his Prince, that he'd finally made the grand sacrifice and asked him to marry him; only to then let him go so he could pursue his dream, breaking his heart, and hoping that he would come back to him one day?

How revolting. Like Kinney hadn't done all those things to make sure that he kept his pretty, little lover firmly under his thumb. But then again, the romantic idiots were dumb enough to buy into the legend.

He should have seen Justin's worth from the very beginning; and maybe then, _he_ would have a bit more respect for the man. But he hadn't, treating him as nothing more than a fuck, or so they said.

How this man couldn't have seen what _he'd_ seen from the beginning, he didn't know. And he didn't deserve Justin's unswerving love and devotion. He didn't deserve the good things that had been handed to him in his life, given the way he'd fucked everything that moved, tossing them to the side like yesterday's garbage. Just as he'd done with his love in the beginning – tossing him aside, treating him as if he was nothing more than a convenient fuck, not realizing how _blessed_ he was to be loved and worshiped by such a divine creature.

He didn't deserve his place in this beautiful man's life; could never appreciate Justin the way he could!

Clenching his fists, he sucked in a deep breath and looked around, panting a bit as he tried to rein his temper in. Losing it now would draw more attention to him, and then he'd never get close to his love again. He shifted uneasily on his feet, and surreptitiously looked around, trying to see if they'd noticed him at all; and then he gradually relaxed when no one seemed to be watching him or even casting a funny glance his way.

He slumped against the wall, and took several deep breaths; that had been close, too close to him losing it and doing something destructive once again. Despite the rage, the _hate_ bubbling in his gut every time he thought of his nemesis, every time he'd had to watch his enemy touch and kiss and hold _his_ love, he had to be careful.

Justin was far too well watched these days between Kinney and his minions. Getting close to him these days was difficult. Not only was his love stressed and constantly looking over his shoulder (and it hurt; had broke his heart that his actions had brought such fear and stress into his love's life; but it had been necessary; this way they couldn't ignore him any longer because soon, soon he would be in a place to get the usurper out of his love's life and then he could be there to comfort and put his love back together); but he had people trailing his every move.

He wasn't able to talk to him or touch him or linger for too long as Kinney's minions might just look at him far too closely, and he wasn't quite ready to take what was rightfully his; had been his from the moment he'd first saw him, even if he hadn't been able to claim him at that time.

But soon there would come a time where he would have it all.

He'd be the one to laugh and love with Justin; and he'd be the one to touch all that creamy, soft skin that seemed to glow from the inside out. And he'd be the one to brush those golden, silk strands from his eyes. And he'd be the one to kiss those unbelievably soft, pink lips. He he'd drown in his scent, and the deep blue of his eyes.

It was just a matter of patience and time.

His safe haven was almost completed; the place where they would live and love and he would cherish this beautiful man for the divine being that he was. And he knew that Justin would then realize, would appreciate the lengths that he would go to love him.

"Can I help you, sir?" a voice asked, and he startled, not expecting to have been noticed in his little corner since everyone had just walked by him with the barest glance.

He snapped his head to the left, and fell into familiar pools of wide cerulean blue, set into delicate features, and peaches and cream skin, and framed with long, golden blond hair. And his heart fluttered; of course, if anyone was to notice him, it would be the object of his love, devotion and fascination. He had far too keen of a mind and eye not to notice.

"Sorry," he said, careful to augment his voice to a bit, making it lower and rougher than usual as he didn't want to be recognized. Not yet. It was too soon. But it was oh-so-tempting at the same time, because Justin was right there. "I was just looking at the piece over there. It's very striking and I got lost in my thoughts."

"Ah," Justin said; his eyes were still a bit wary, but a soft smile flowed over his face as he turned to the indicated piece. "It's called [_A Quiet Place_](https://imgur.com/AjGcawm). It's one of my favorites; it's an abstract depiction of a place on my property that my husband and I like to walk to; and just sit and talk about anything and everything on our minds; or when we just need a place to be quiet with or without each other. I've always felt at peace there."

And that rankled a bit; he didn't want to hear about Kinney or see the soft look on his beloved's face as he talked about the bastard. But he managed to bite back the heated retort on the tip of his tongue. It wasn't time for him to say anything yet. Justin needed time to see the light.

"Your husband is a lucky man," he said instead, keeping his face in the shadows as one of Kinney's minions took notice of the two of them. He needed to get out of there before they became to concerned and walked over.

"I like to think that I'm the lucky one," Justin said with a smile, staring at the picture as he laid his hand over the _parasite_ , rubbing it gently. "How could I not be with such a bold, dynamic and wonderful man at my side?"

"Justin!" an older man called out to his beloved, and he was pretty certain it was the gallery owner that was waving Justin away from him and over to where another piece of artwork was being adjusted. "Come over here and tell me what you think of this placement."

"Excuse me," Justin said with a wry smile as he walked away. "But it seems that an artist's work is never done around here."

"It's fine," he said, both relieved and saddened that their time was cut short – while he wanted to be near his love as much as possible, he knew it was too soon and if he lingered any longer, Kinney's minions would get suspicious now that he'd been spotted. "I should get back to work myself."

Justin smiled and walked over to the older man, his smile broadening and lighting up the room as he nodded. "It looks great, Sydney. I really glad you made this the centerpiece. _[Summer Walk](https://imgur.com/YN1NYFr)_ is my favorite after [_Mist_](https://imgur.com/FvRszMZ) and _A Quiet Place_. It's actually from when Brian and I went to on our honeymoon tour."

"Tour?" Sydney laughed, looking heartily amused as he looked at the piece, and again, that flash of rage and jealousy flashed through _his_ breast; yet another piece of art that was somehow tied to the undeserving bastard.

"Brian never does anything by halves, as you well know," Justin rolled his eyes and laughed, his face glowing. "There is really no other word for a near two-month honeymoon trip around the world. He made sure that we hit every place I even briefly mentioned that I wanted to see. This was from when we were in Greece."

"He's a good man, even if he'd deny it until he was blue in the face," Sydney chuckled, shaking his head with amusement. "You're both lucky to have found each other."

"We are," Justin said, a small, content smile on his face.

And that was enough for him; he had to get out of there before he ripped the artwork from the wall, broke it into as many pieces as he could and set it aflame, to burn the way his heart was currently burning. Keeping his head low, he followed one of the workers out of the main gallery, and through the back door to quietly slip away.

He didn't understand what hold that undeserving bastard, Kinney, had over his beautiful love. It was frustrating to see Justin speak of the man like he was in any way, shape or form worthy of his love and attention. That Kinney in any way deserved his devotion.

Something had to be done; he had to break this spell Kinney had over his love; and soon, before he lost the last bit of his patience and acted on his desires before it was time.


	75. March 14

**March 14**

Justin strode into Casbah, a bit harried as he was running a little late as there had been some last minute issues to take care of at the gallery. Then there had been the fact that he'd had to run by Deb's to drop off some invitations to the opening for Ben, Hunter, his girlfriend and, irritatingly, Michael. The latter of which he wasn't happy about at all, but wasn't making a fuss over as he knew they were leaving soon and he was doing this because he loved Deb and she wanted him there.

Justin had a feeling that secretly, Deb was hoping that if Michael, Justin and Brian were in the same room together, that they'd talk and start mending fences. He didn't have the heart to tell her that it will never happen; any chance of forgiveness had flown right out the window once Justin had been hospitalized because of Michael's actions. There was _no_ coming back from that.

God, he didn't even want to deal with Brian's wrath when he found out that the asshole was going to be showing up for opening night; but he also knew that he needed to tell him, as Deb's idea of springing it on him and hoping for the best would have heads rolling.

And he didn't want to be spending the evening down at the precinct bailing Brian's ass out of jail because Deb was feeling optimistic.

After that, he'd had to rush to the loft to change out of his 'work' clothing and into the suit that Brian had dropped off this morning, when they'd gotten word that Leo and Lucille were showing up a day earlier than expected. Something that Justin was happy about, but also left him a bit stressed because there was still so much to do, and he didn't have time to entertain them.

Luckily, it was a Thursday, and Brian had managed to get a reservation at Casbah, one of their favorite restaurants. Of course, it did help that the restaurant had been a client of their for three years, and that the chef and manager were good friends – it made getting a table a bit easier at times. Not that they used that to their advantage. Mostly.

And then, once he'd _finally_ gotten to the loft, showered and changed, it had taken him a bit longer than usual to get from there to the actual restaurant due traffic.

All in all, it had been a bitch of a day; and he so _wasn't_ looking forward to yet another day like it tomorrow. He was exhausted already and the show hadn't even opened yet.

"Can I help you, sir?" the hostess asked as Justin walked up to her, still a bit out of breath due to his earlier rushing about. He really couldn't wait until Sunbeam had been born, and he didn't feel like he was winded all the damned time.

"Yes, I have reservations here for Taylor-Kinney, party of four," Justin said, running a hand through his hair. "I'm pretty sure the rest of my party is already here."

"Yes; they are already seated at the table," the hostess said, looking down at her book. "If you'll follow me; it's right this way."

Justin followed the woman, thankful that they didn't have too far to go before he saw his husband and their guests. Brian, who had been watching for him, stood and made his way over to him; he thanked the woman and then pulled Justin into his arms for a soft, lingering, but chaste kiss, sensing that Justin just wanted to sit down.

"Get everything done, Sunshine?" He asked as he took Justin's hand and led him towards their table, where Leo and Lucille were both standing and waiting for them.

"Mostly," Justin sighed, wanting nothing more than to be curled up in bed at home. God, he was just so fucking tired these days. "But I'll still need to be there for a few hours tomorrow, just to double check everything and go over all the information with the docents and…"

"Hey," Brian said as he stopped and pressed a kiss to his temple. "Worry about it tomorrow. Tonight, let's just have dinner with Leo and Lucille and then we'll go home and I'll draw you a warm bath and then give you a massage. How's that sound?"

"Like heaven," Justin sighed, rubbing his cheek against Brian's. "Are they staying with us or at a hotel tonight?"

"Hotel," Brian said, starting to walk towards the table again. "Lucille knew that you're were going to busy tonight through the public opening on Saturday. She didn't want to add anymore worries onto your plate, so the booked a room at the Penn."

Justin just nodded as by that time, they were coming up to their table; he pasted on a smile, that soon turned genuine if a little tired as Leo and Lucille greeted him.

"Justin, my boy," Leo said, pulling Justin into a hug, and giving him a hearty pat on the back that nearly knocked the wind out of him; he coughed a bit, while Lucille rolled her eyes, and just patted the other man on the back as well. "How are you doing tonight?"

"I'm well," Justin said, pulling away from Leo, only to get pulled into a warm hug from Lucille. He sighed and held onto her a bit longer; as always her hugs comforted him the way his mother's and Deb's did, and he really needed it tonight. "A bit tired from running around all day, but well otherwise."

"Hello, dear," Lucille said, brushing a kiss onto his cheek and then pulling back to look at him with concern. "But you are resting as needed I hope."

"Hello, Lucille," Justin said, his smile brightening at her obvious concern. "And yes, Sydney was under strict orders from that one…" Justin nodded his head towards a smirking Brian, "to make certain that I sat down for _at least_ thirty minutes every couple of hours and he followed them religiously."

"As he should," Brian huffed, pulling out Justin's chair for him and sliding it in as Justin sat down, before sitting down himself. "It would be bad for him if he'd exhausted his very pregnant artist before the show had even begun."

Justin huffed and rolled his eyes, but remained silent as he'd gotten quite used to Brian's overprotective streak over the last few months. And sometimes, it was just easier to not say a word and let him have his way than to argue.

"Now, stop that young man," Lucille said, pointing an admonishing finger at Justin; and that was the other reason he didn't bother to argue. Brian had Lucille on his side when it came down to it, and trying to fight them both would end in a no-win situation. "You know he is right; being on your feet all day isn't good for you or the baby."

Justin sighed and opened his mouth to say something, although what exactly, he didn't know, as Leo just chuckled, making him snap his mouth shut without saying a word.

"Just give it up, kid," Leo said with a smirk; he took a sip of his scotch and then pointed it at Justin. "You know you'll never win against these two worrywarts."

"I know," Justin huffed, taking a sip of his water; he set it down and smiled. "Despite the ever present coddling…' He smirked and paused as Brian snorted, Lucille tch'ed and Leo laughed. "It i _s_ good to see you both; I thought you weren't coming in until tomorrow?"

"We weren't," Lucille said and cast a smirk at her husband, who grumbled a bit under his breath. "But I managed to drag _him_ out of the office with the promise that he could spend the day golfing tomorrow. Although, why anyone would find hours of hitting tiny balls with a club amusing, I have no idea. I much prefer my balls to be…"

"Lucy!" Leo exclaimed, casting a scandalized look at his wife of thirty years; although, Justin was well aware that it was affected. Both he and Brian laughed, well used to Lucille's bawdy comments and Leo's mock offense.

"Yes, dear?" Lucille simpered, fluttering her lashes at Leo; who just snorted in amusement. "Was there something you wanted to add to this conversation?"

"You are terrible, woman," Leo snickered, shaking his head with mock despair. "Why I have put up with you over the years…"

"You'd die of boredom if it weren't for me," Lucille smirked, taking a small sip of her wine, her eyes dancing with mirth as she turned back to Justin and Brian.

"I don't get it either; it sounds boring as fuck to me," Justin said, crinkling his nose at the idea of spending hours on a golf course doing nothing but hitting balls across a green. He knew that there was a skill to it; but he'd rather spend a weekend, trapped in a one-room apartment, with no hope for escape, with _Michael_ or _Lindsay_ than play. "But then again, I've never been into sports. Brian is the athletic one in this partnership."

"And I suppose you aren't going to help me out either?" Leo asked, looking at Brian for some sort of moral support; but Brian just snickered.

"What can I say," Brian shrugged, toasting Lucille with his tumbler of Beam. "She's a woman after my own heart."

"Do give it up, dear," Lucille smirked. "I'm clearly the favorite." She turned back to Justin with a warm smile. "Besides, if we'd come tomorrow, I would've had to share my darling boy with all his other fans; and this way I only have to share him with his husband."

"And where do I factor into this?" Leo huffed, looking at his wife with mock annoyance.

"You don't, other than to be my arm candy," Lucille said, laughing at her husband's incredulous expression. Justin giggled, his tiredness melting away as he watched two of his favorite people verbally spar with one another.

"Thirty years of marriage," Leo huffed. "And this is what I'm reduced to – arm candy." He paused, and cocked his head thoughtfully, and then grinned and shrugged. "I suppose there are worse things in life."

"At least you're arm candy to the loveliest, most charming woman in Chicago," Justin said, piling it on thickly just to get a rise out of the older man. Lucille laughed, long and loud, as Justin smirked at Leo's expression, which was an amalgamation of pride, bemusement and outrage.

"See," Lucille said, patting Justin on the hand with a wide smile. "And that's why this darling boy is _my_ favorite."

"Suck up," Brian said sotto voce, snickering when Justin turned wide, innocent blue eyes towards him and the other two laughed.

"You're just grumpy because you didn't think of it first," Justin sniffed haughtily, and then snickered when Brian glared at him; and then his husband shrugged.

"Point," Brian conceded, turning back to the table, and was about to say something to Leo, but the server came up at that point to take their order.

Sighing, Justin turned to Brian, as the other two were putting in their order, and reluctantly said in a low voice, "I need to talk to you about something when we get home. It's about Deb and the show."

"What about Deb and the show?" Brian asked, his mouth tightening as if he already had an inkling of what Justin needed to tell him.

"I don't want to get into it here," Justin said, shaking his head as Brian protested. "Just remind me to tell you tonight."

"It has to do with Michael, doesn't it?" Brian asked, obviously not willing to drop the subject.

"Brian," Justin huffed, one eye on Leo, who was finishing up his order. "Not now; like you said, let's just enjoy dinner and then when we get home, I'll fill you in."

"Fine," Brian said, turning toward the server as Leo finished up, but he was noticeably tenser, and Justin was almost sorry he had said anything. He probably should have waited until after dinner, but he was tired and worried it would slip his mind. "I'll wait until we get home; but if it's what I'm thinking, Sunshine, I'm not happy about this."

"Yeah, neither am I," Justin muttered, garnering a sharp look from his husband, but he blatantly ignored it. He didn't want to say anymore right now, especially since Lucille had picked up on the tense atmosphere between them.

Justin studied the menu while Brian gave his order, having a difficult time deciding if he was more in the mood for chicken or lamb. They both sounded good, but he was leaning toward the lamb shank as he could get chicken anytime. Once, Brian finished, Justin looked up and started giving off his order, with Brian watching him warily much to his amusement. Honestly, you'd think that Justin ordered weird combinations every day with the way he acted.

"I'd like to start with the Veal and Pork meatballs," Justin said, looking at his menu for a moment. "But can I get a side of the Red Pepper Muhummara added to that as well; the flat bread isn't necessary, I just want the spread. And then I'll have the potato and leek soup; I do want the cheddar biscuit with that. And if I can get a dollop of green goddess yogurt on top of it that would be great. And then I'll have the lamb shank, but instead of chickpeas, could I get the roasted squash instead? And then add a side of pomegranate molasses to the entree, please?"

Justin looked up, huffed and rolled his eyes when Brian sighed and looked relieved, and then just nodded at the server when she looked at him inquisitively. Shrugging, she made all the notations, collected the menus and left.

"Brian, you look a bit tense, dear," Lucille said, arching a brow. "Is everything okay?"

"Nothing to worry about; I was just wondering what culinary adventure Justin would take me on today," Brian smirked, downplaying his unease over Justin's words with a bit of humor. Justin glared and pinched his husband in the side. "Trust me, had you seen some of the things he's dreamed up recently, you'd be concerned too."

Lucille and Leo laughed as Brian relaxed, pulling out all of his acting skills to smooth the tense moment over and put their guests at ease. But Justin knew that he was far from happy about the conversation to come; and Justin dreaded the moment he would have to tell him that Michael had somehow, once again, managed to worm his way back into Deb's good graces, and, as a result, their lives.


	76. March 15 (Part One)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is a really late post, or a really early post depending on your view. Insomnia sucks, and this took me a really freaking long time because both parts are much longer than my usual vignettes. But it was necessary as so much has happened.

**March 15 – Beware the Ides of March (Part One)**

Brian stood across the gallery, one eye on Justin at all times as he chatted with various patrons and fans; the other was keeping track of Mikey, because like hell was he going to allow him anywhere near his husband tonight. Thankfully, it seemed that the other members of their 'family' had had the same idea as, if _he_ wasn't by Justin's side, then one of them _was_ , outside of Deb. _She_ was standing on the far end of the gallery, well away from Brian as she'd picked up on the fact that Brian was none to happy with her for her interference.

Sweeping the room again, he pinned Mikey with a ' _stay the fuck away_ ' look when it seemed as if he'd worked up the courage to try and approach Justin yet again. Michael halted and looked away unhappily, but Brian didn't even give one fuck. What had he really expected when he'd shown up here? That just because he'd been invited that all was forgiven?

And then Brian paused and sighed; _of course_ , that's what Michael thought. He really wished that Justin would have talked over with him _before_ caving to Deb's whims, and invited Michael, Ben and Hunter. He would have put a halt to this train wreck real fast. Hunter, he didn't care about, and was actually happy to see; but Ben and Mikey? He didn't trust them as far as he could throw them.

"You seem distracted tonight, darling boy," Lucille said, distracting him from his thoughts; he smiled wryly as she linked her arm with his. Only _she_ could get away with calling him that without him immediately balking; had it been anyone else, he would have eviscerated them in a nanosecond.

"Sorry," Brian sighed; he downed the rest of his Beam and then set it down on a passing tray. "I just don't trust Michael. And I don't want him anywhere near Justin if that's at all possible. And while he seems to be on his best behavior right now, I know how quickly that can change if he doesn't feel that he's getting his just due."

"Michael?" Lucille asked, a keen interest sparkling in her eyes; Brian watched her warily. "That's the little twerp that upset Justin enough to hospitalize him, correct?" Brian smirked at her choice of words and nodded. "And which one was he again?"

"Like I'm going to tell you," Brian snorted; he knew damned well that she'd been gunning for Michael ever since she'd hear about Justin's anxiety attack and the resulting hospitalization. "If I did, we'd be scraping him off the floor; and I really doubt that Sydney would appreciate bloodstains on his newly polished, hardwood floors."

"Oh, pish posh," Lucille said, trying to appear innocent, but Brian wasn't buying it. "I wouldn't _physically_ harm him." Brian arched a skeptical brow and just waited; Lucille answered with a saccharine smile, her eyes glinting with a hint of malice. " _Much_."

"That's not as reassuring as you think it is," Brian huffed, rolling his lips under as he internally debated giving Mikey up. Part of him wanted to see Lucille hand Mikey's ass to him; but the other part hesitated as he didn't want anything to ruin Justin's show.

"You might as well give in and tell her," Leo chuckled, shaking his head at his wife's maneuvering. "She'll find out eventually."

"I know that," Brian smirked; knowing it to be the truth - when Lucille wanted something, no one could stop her. But he wasn't going to help her out with this. "But this way, if something happens, it's not on _my_ conscience."

"That wasn't a ' _no_ ' then," Lucille smirked, a wicked gleam in her eyes as she looked around the room, her eyes halting on Emmett. " _Excellent_."

"Lucille…" Brian said; he cast a warning glance her way, and then huffed when it fell on deaf ears.

"Not now, darling boy," Lucille said; she dismissed his concerns with a wave of her hand, and then smirked over her shoulder as she headed off in Emmett's direction. "I do believe it's time for me to mingle with your little friends."

"I give up," Brian huffed, shaking his head as he and Leo began to do a circuit around the room, one eye still on Justin, and the other on Mikey.

"Wise decision, my boy," Leo said, chuckling heartily when Brian made a face at his words; as he said, there was only one person that got away with calling him that. "I learned a long time ago to just give into her. It makes my life much more peaceful."

**… … … … …**

Brian finished his circuit of the room, having lost Leo somewhere in the mix, and ending up with Kellie of all people, who did nothing but gush over Justin's work. Brian smirked and nodded as she waxed poetic about the Reflections series which included _A Quiet Place_ , _[Reflections](https://imgur.com/03RnUZz), _[_Reflections 2_](https://imgur.com/XvAaLKV) and [_Peaceful Gardens_](https://imgur.com/1XKlJGf). Not because he didn't agree with her, but because he couldn't wait to tease Justin about his favorite fan girl. it always irritated him and made for an interesting night.

He actually loved the pieces, all taken from pictures of various areas on their property at Britin when they'd gone on their rambles, exploring each and every nook and cranny when they'd moved in. He was especially fond of _Peaceful Gardens_ , and amused by the irony of the title; as while it was an idyllic and peaceful scene, he remembered all too well dragging Justin to the ground by the pond and fucking the shit out of him. It hadn't remained silent or peaceful for very long after that.

Sipping on his second tumbler of Beam, Brian nodded his head and responded in all the appropriate places as Kellie prattled on, but his focus really wasn't on what she was saying. It was, as ever, with Justin, who was just finishing up a conversation with Sydney and some critic for a local paper or magazine, a typical scene at one of those things. But that wasn't what had really garnered his attention and ire.

No, it was the pretentious, smarmy, little asshole that was standing on the edges, just waiting to pounce on Justin that had his hackles rising. Honestly, hadn't the idiot gotten a clue the first dozen or so times that Justin had sent him packing? It was, frankly, fucking ridiculous that he continued to seek Justin out despite being shot down time after time.

"Will you excuse me, Kellie?" Brian said, nodding over to Justin, who was frowning at a particularly smug Ethan. "I need to run interference before my husband smears this idiot across the floor. I really don't need to be bailing him out of jail tonight."

"No problem," Kellie laughed, knowing exactly how Justin felt about his ex. "I need to talk to Sydney anyways. I want to grab _Peaceful Gardens_ before someone else has the chance to snatch it up."

"Excellent choice," Brian smirked, chuckling to himself as he walked across the gallery and came to a standstill behind a posturing Ethan. He looked at Justin, who just rolled his eyes as Ethan continued to prattle on about nothing anyone cared to hear about. He arched a brow, making Justin snicker and swiftly ending Ethan's little monologue with a frown.

That was one way to shut him up; Ethan hated to be laughed at. Of course, it also stripped the charming veneer away to reveal the true, little cockroach that he was.

"What? No paintings of Brian?" Ethan sneered, looking around; and that instantly garnered Brian's attention. Because while Justin still wasn't one hundred percent certain which of his paintings had been destroyed, Brian did. And Ethan's question put him on high alert. "I'm shocked."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Brian asked, smirking when the little weasel jumped and spun around; Ethan scowled and scuttled back when he saw that was Brian hovering over him. Brian just  snickered and walked over to Justin; he wrapped an arm around Justin's waist and pulled him securely into his body, every line in his body and every gesture screaming, ' _mine_.'

Ethan scowled at the gesture; which is exactly why Brian did it.

"Well, Justin is always saying that you're his muse anytime he's interviewed," Ethan taunted, a sour expression on his face; Brian just stared at him blandly, utterly unimpressed with the other man's fit of pique. "I'm just surprised that there isn't anything with you in it."

"Oh, but there is," Justin disagreed, an amused smile spreading across his lips; Brian smirked and dropped a kiss onto the top of his head, further riling Ethan up.

"All I'm seeing are a bunch of landscapes," Ethan spat, his nose firmly out of joint as he swept his arm out and around, encompassing all the pieces in the room.

"Well, I wouldn't expect you to understand, Ethan," Justin said, speaking to him as if he were explaining something to a recalcitrant toddler. "After all, that would require you to look beneath the surface of something, and you've never been very good at doing that." Brian snorted, but remained otherwise silent. "Had you actually developed that skill, you would know that each and every one of these pieces is inspired either by Brian or our life together."

And damned if Brian hadn't wanted to shout, ' _that's my boy!_ ' And then soundly kiss Justin in front of this cretin; but, surprisingly, he managed to squash the urge. But tonight…oh, tonight his boy was going to get the fucking of his life for that little gem.

"How sweet," Ethan said, his sour tone belying his words. Brian just shook his head, utterly amused by the pipsqueak's continued petulance.

"Isn't it just?" Justin agreed with a saccharine smile.

And then, just to be a little shit, Justin turned to Brian and tangled his fingers into his hair; he crushed their lips together and thoroughly kissed him as Ethan watched and fumed. Brian, rarely one to deny himself, tightened his hold on Justin, and kissed back, barely quelling a groan as the little twat teased and tempted him into more. Oh, his ass was so getting it when they got home.

Licking his lips as he pulled away, Justin smirked and then turned to face Ethan once more, a smug look on his face. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I see someone I need to talk to." His husband then turned back to him and arched a brow. "Are you coming or shall we meet at the bar in a few?"

"I'll catch up to you in a moment," Brian smirked, barely holding back a chuckle as his husband turned on his heel and walked away; he watched appreciatively as Justin added an extra little swing to his hips just to be a complete and utter brat.

 _God, how he loved that man_.

Brian turned back to Ethan, who stood there watching Justin walk away, his hands clenched into fists and hateful glare burning holes into his husband's back. Brian snapped his fingers in front of his face, drawing the little dickwad's attention back to him; a smug satisfaction curling in his stomach when Ethan flinched at the cold look Brian directed his way. No one, but _no one_ messed with his Sunshine.

"Act smug while you can, Kinney," Ethan spat, but at this point it was nothing more than false bravado as he slowly backed away from Brian. "But eventually he'll see through you; and when that happens, I'll be right there waiting to say ' _I told you so_.'"

"You've been saying that for years, _Ian_ ," Brian said, his tone silk over steel as he advanced on the little asshole. "And we're still together, still married and still having a child. I'd say it's time to admit that you've lost."

"We'll see about that," Ethan huffed; his anger over Brian purposefully getting his name wrong, seeming to reassert his backbone; but not for long.

Ethan was, at best, weak-willed, and at worst, an outright coward. Not that _that_ knowledge would stop Brian from keeping an eye on him; even cowards snap and do atrocious things. After all, look at Chris Hobbs.

"And it is _Ethan_ , not _Ian_ ," Ethan hissed, glaring at Brian; and Brian couldn't help but snort, almost expecting the idiot to stomp his foot like a petulant two-year-old. "As I've told you a hundred times before!"

"And I care about this, why?" Brian mocked, blandly staring at the idiot for a long moment before shooing him off with his hand. "Go away, _Ian_. I have more important things to worry about than some loser who can't let go of the past."

Ethan huffed and stomped away, leaving several looks of mild amusement in his wake; but Brian had other things on his mind. He didn't like the fact that Ethan was asking about the lack of portraits in the show; and it was definitely something he wanted to bring up with Tak and Carl.

**… … … … …**

Brian watched until Ethan left, storming out of the gallery in a high dudgeon; he finished his drink and then looked around, only to find that Justin had been caught by Kellie this time. He looked over at Brian, a pleading expression in his eyes, but Brian just smiled and waved. Justin scowled as soon as Kellie turned to look at one of his pieces – [Color in the Rocks](https://imgur.com/jxRWqkE) – and flipped him off.

Brian just laughed and pointed towards the bar, where they'd indicated that they were going to meet. Justin rolled his eyes and nodded, before he turned back to Kelly. This was actually good, because now he could grab Carl and ask him what he thought about Ethan's words. He was willing to believe that he was being paranoid; but when it came to Justin and Sunbeam, better safe than sorry.

Looking around the room, Brian spotted Carl near Deb and grimaced; he really didn't want to deal with her yet, but he also really needed to speak with Carl. Sighing, Brian started their way, but halted when a server came up to him with a tray.

"Your drink, sir," the server - a slight, twenty-ish brunet that stared at him with lust and awe - said as he held the tray out. Brian just arched a brow, making the wet-behind-the-ear boy flush and look away.

"I didn't order this," Brian said, warily looking at the drink; and then he looked around to see if anyone was watching him. But he didn't see anything out of the ordinary.

"Oh, well; I was told it was for you?" the waiter stammered, looking a bit nervous when Brian denied the drink; and that just made Brian all the more suspicious of the server's, or whoever-sent-it's, intentions. "Perhaps a patron sent it?"

"Perhaps," Brian said as he studied the nervous boy; and then, deciding that the server was only worried about doing his job, he took it and watched as they boy scurried away.

But he didn't drink it.

Surreptitiously looking around the gallery, Brian noted that while people's gazes were drawn to him, none lingered. But he just had a bad feeling about this, and he wasn't about tempt fate. He looked around again, and met Carl's eyes; he nodded at the drink gravely, hoping that he'd catch on that something was amiss, and was rewarded with a single nod back.

Carl said something to Deb, and then quickly crossed the gallery to Brian's side. And again, Brian swept the room, curious to see if anyone was leaving, or looked concerned with this turn of events; and still he found nothing.

"Is something wrong?" Carl asked in a hushed tone, looking around the room too once he'd noticed that Brian was looking for something or someone; but he looked as confused as Brian felt.

"I didn't order this drink," Brian said, flicking a look down at the tumbler in his hand, and then looking back at Carl. "Yet, I was told it was for me. Call me paranoid, but after everything that's happened, I'm not all that keen on drinking it."

Carl looked down at the tumbled with a grim smile and nodded.

"Come with me," Carl said; he took the crook of Brian's elbow and ushered him into the back room, and into the small kitchen. He pointed to a table and chairs. "Stay here, and watch it, so that we know that it hasn't been further tampered with or switched out. I'll call Tak or someone to bring a vial to do a collection. It may be nothing…"

"But it could be sent by our friendly neighborhood stalker?" Brian asked rhetorically, a grim smile on his face.

"Anything is possible," Carl said, pulling out his phone as he left the room.

Brian sat there, staring at the innocuous glass; and even without tasting it, even without the test results in his hand, he knew that there was something off about it.

**… … … … …**

Brian was exhausted, and he still hadn't managed to catch up with his husband, who was now looking at him with worry as they were supposed to meet up at the bar an hour ago. Sadly, Brian had been stuck in the back answering questions and watching as Tak collected samples from the drink before placing the empty glass into a bag. He'd hoped that he was just being paranoid; but somehow, he didn't think that he was.

Blowing out a breath, he and Carl moved over to the bar, and sat down. They both sighed while Brian ordered a beer, deciding to stick to unopened bottles for the rest of the night. Emmett looked surprised by the request, knowing that he preferred Beam; but he nodded, grabbed a beer and opened it in front of him. Brian grabbed it and took a long drink before arching a brow as he set it down.

"So, why are you manning the bar?" Brian asked, watching his friend with mild curiosity; Emmett rarely served at his event, preferring to be available if the clients or their guests had questions, or his staff needed his input.

"My bartender had a family emergency and had to leave," Emmett said, his brow pinching a bit as he helped another patron; Brian stiffened and looked at Carl, who seemed equally grim at that announcement. "I have someone coming in to replace him in about twenty minutes, but in the mean time…" Emmett shrugged.

" _Did_ he?" Brian drawled, his tone instantly garnering Emmett's attention; his friend looked back and forth between Brian and Carl, automatically sensing something was afoot by their grim countenances, especially when Brian asked. "What was his name?"

"Ummm…Blaine?" Emmett said, cocking his head to think on it. "I think that was it. Can't be sure though. I'd have to look at the files. It's only his third or fourth time working for me as he only does events for the gallery for some reason." Emmett paused as Brian and Carl exchanged another look. "Why do you ask?"

"What does he look like?" Brian asked, as he turned back to Emmett, his heart hammering in his chest; it didn't make any sense, but this was far too big of a coincidence for him to ignore.

"Oh, God...um..." Emmett hummed, averting his gaze thoughtfully as tried to recall the other guy. "I haven't seen him in a month or so, as he only does the gallery gigs and he was late today. But, um… blonde hair, blue eyes, slender, about Justin's…height…"

Emmett stopped, his eyes widening as he looked at Brian and Carl; Brian cursed under his breath, running a hand through his hair. It doesn't make any sense, but yet it sounded like the Blaine they'd been looking for. But, if he was, why would he tell the cops anything if...?

"Shit," Emmett cursed, looking seriously pissed off. "I didn't even think of it; it didn't even click until just now as I have a different last name for him," Emmett paused, confused. "But I thought you said this guy tipped you off and ran; why would he be here if he knew you were looking for him? I mean, this is the last place I would be if I knew you and Carl were going to be here."

And _that_ was an excellent question; one he'd love an answer to.

"I…" Brian began, but immediately closed his mouth when Carl shook his head and looked around the room at the various patrons. Brian nodded.

"Not here," Carl said, shaking his head when Emmett opened his mouth to protest. "Tak should be there if what we suspect is true." Emmett's eyes widened as he recognized the detective's name. "Can we meet sometime this week?"

"Sure," Emmett nodded, his expression still showing his alarm at the possibility that his business was somehow involved with the case. "Just let me know when you want to meet; unless I'm dong an event or meeting with a client, I'm pretty well open."

"I'll get back to you in a day or two once we have more information," Carl said, grabbing his drink and exchanging a look with both of them before he walked away, his phone once again pressed to his ear.

Brian sighed and ran a hand through his hair, shaken by the implications of this new information, and only twitched a bit when Emmett reached out a squeezed his shoulder.

"We'll get through this, Big Bad," Emmett said, his eyes burning with rage as he stared into Brian's. "And I promise you, if this asshole is using my business to get close to Justin, I will _end_ him. Whatever you need, I'm here for you."

Brian nodded and took another long swallow of his beer, looking away as Emmett went back to serving his guests, his mind troubled by the night's unfolding events. And it wasn't even over yet.

Fucking _Beware the Ides of March_ indeed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Colour in the Rocks, A Quiet Place, Reflections, Reflections 2, and Kew Gardens (renamed Peaceful Gardens in the story) are all by Joanne Last.


	77. March 15 (Part Two)

**March 15 – Beware the Ides of March (Part Two)**

Justin stifled a yawn as the patron droned on and on about his work, waxing poetic about what they though it meant and basically trying to sound far more important and educated than they really were. He often found it amusing when people did this, and even sometimes was impressed; because while he may not have been consciously thinking of something while creating it, he could see how people might pick up on the undertones of the painting; or pastel in this case.

However, this jackass didn't have a fucking clue what he was talking about; going on and on about how this piece was obviously a metaphor for Justin's slowly diminishing freedom, and the wearing away of his independence, due to his encroaching fatherhood; or some such bullshit. He really wanted to laugh and ask the guy, whose pregnant wife was talking to her mother across the way, if he was projecting much.

Because Justin couldn't wait to be a father; and he certainly didn't feel chained or tied down by expectations like this guy obviously was. But he nodded in the right places and made sympathetic noises, and then rolled his eyes as the guy walked away, satisfied that he wasn't the only one feeling this way. Honestly, he didn't even have to say anything at these things anymore, as people were more than happy to tell him what he meant by whatever obscure dash of paint or dot of color in his work.

It was best to just let them prattle on, and listen to how it felt for or what it meant to them, rather than say, _'actually that dot of blue in a sea of green grass didn't symbolize my feeling of isolation, but was merely me being a fucking klutz, tripping and getting paint where it shouldn't have been.'_ The isolation theory sounded so much better.

Huffing as the man joined his wife, Justin scanned the room, noting that for the first time tonight, Michael wasn't even looking at him. That came as a surprise, since the asshole had seemed determined to talk to him when he'd first arrived, and kept trying to corner him at various intervals. Justin frowned as he studied Michael; who now seemed to be studiously _ignoring_ him; he couldn't figure out just what was his game.

"You seem a bit tense, darling boy," Lucille said as she came up to him, a serene smile on her face as Justin startled and pulled his confused gaze away from Michael. He smiled warmly at her as she tucked her hand into the crook of his elbow and simpered. "Tell Auntie Lucy all about it."

"Auntie Lucy?" Justin snorted, arching a brow. Lucille just smirked, her eyes sparkling with humor as she waited for his explanation. Justin sighed. "It's nothing serious; I'm just a bit tense because Michael is here and he's tried to approach me on more than one occasion. And I'm a bit worried that if he does, I won't hold back on him any longer."

"And why haven't you told him to fuck off?" Lucille demanded; she arched an imperious brow, making Justin shake his head and laugh. "What; it's the truth. You should have told that little weasel to fuck off years ago."

Justin snickered at her description of Michael, and cast a look his way. Well, he couldn't disagree with her assessment; although, he did think it was an insult to weasels everywhere. Even they weren't so bad as to be compared to Michael in his opinion.

Justin sighed again and turned back to Lucille.

"Honestly?" Justin asked, waiting for Lucille to nod. "For a long time, it was because I found him to be nothing more than an annoying idiot, and I could easily ignore him." He paused and gave her a wry smile, finishing a bit cattily. "Plus, it's hard to get worked up over someone who is so delusional that he's still holding onto an unfinished hand job that happened when he was fourteen."

"Oh, do tell me how you really feel dear," Lucille said, her eyes gleaming with mischief. Justin laughed again; especially when she just continued to egg him on. "No, really, _do_ tell me; I live for this."

"Leo is right," Justin snickered; ignoring the way the 'weasel,' as Lucille deemed him, turned and watched the two of them. "You _are_ a terrible woman." He paused, looked at Michael and arched a brow, surprised when the man flushed and looked away. Well, that was an interesting development. "But mostly it was because he was Brian's friend and I would have never forced Brian to choose between the two of us. It wasn't right."

"And yet, that little asshole has been forcing Brian to choose for years," Lucille pointed out; Justin shrugged. There was really nothing he could do about that. "And look what happened? In the end, he chose you."

"And that's why I'm worried that he'll try to make a scene;" Justin said, rolling his lips between his teeth as he studied Michael's back. "Brian hasn't said a word to him in over a month. He _has_ to be going through withdrawals at this point."

"Ah," Lucille nodded; and then she cast a sly glance his way. "Well, I wouldn't worry about it; I have a feeling he'll be keeping his distance for the rest of the evening."

"Why?" Justin asked in surprise; and then he noticed the slight amused curl of her lips as Michael looked back over at them, only to quickly look away again. He narrowed his eyes as his gaze bounced between the two of them. "What did you do?"

"Nothing," Lucille said, all faux innocence; and then she smirked when Justin snorted. "Or, well, nothing _too_ painful." She leaned up and patted him on the cheek. "Don't worry your pretty little head about it, my dear. Auntie Lucy has your back."

" _You_ are a _menace_ ," Justin declared; but he also couldn't help grinning at the woman who had become like another mother to him.

"I do believe that is the best thing you've ever said to me, darling," Lucille said, wiping a fake tear from her eye. Justin just shook his head at her antics, and then laughed when she saw Leo staring at a brightly colored drink in fascination. "Now, if you'll excuse me; I need to stop my buffoon of a husband from drinking whatever it is that darling Emmett is trying to talk him into drinking. I will not carry his ass to the car."

Justin laughed again, and turned to the next person, sighing mentally when he noted that Sydney was standing there with another so-called art critic, just salivating to talk to him. This was going to be a fucking long night.

**… … … … …**

Justin had just managed to escape the crashing boor, (and bore for that matter), that was Ethan, snickering to himself as he watched Brian hand him his ass once again. He supposed he really should have stuck around and helped Brian out, but he just didn't want to deal with Ethan and his ever-expanding ego. And Brian knew how to shut Ethan down with nothing more than a look and a few well-placed words.

Snickering as Brian stared down at a furious Ethan with an unimpressed smirk, Justin couldn't help comparing Ethan to a hissing kitten trying to stand up to the Big Bad Wolf. It was pretty damned funny that Ethan thought he had anything on Brian after all these years. Talk about delusional. Shaking his head, Justin watched as Brian took a step towards Ethan, making the other man back away, and laughed again.

That was likely why he hadn't noticed Kellie, from Eyeconics, descending on him; and then when he looked up, it was far too late. He groaned internally, and pasted a smile on his face as she approached. Normally, he liked Kellie; but he just wanted to sit down and relax for a bit and he knew that wouldn't be happening any time soon as she started talking excitedly about his art.

Justin just nodded, and kept a smile on his face while Brian dispatched of Ethan, and then he cast him a pleading look, hoping that his husband would extract him from his current predicament. But Brian just smirked and waved; and then quickly walked in the opposite direction. Asshole. He'd be getting even with his husband for that later.

"I really do love your work Justin," Kellie gushed, latching her arm with his as they looked at the nearest piece, which happened to be _Colors in the Rocks;_ a piece that was inspired by the English coastline that Brian and he had visited on the their honeymoon tour. "It's always beautiful and speaks to me on so many levels. And I especially love your Reflections series in this batch."

"Thanks!" Justin smiled; and really, he loved that set best himself. "Those were actually of different areas from around Britin. _A Quiet Place_ is actually a small grove of trees that we can see from our bedroom window. And _Reflections_ , _Reflections 2_ and _Peaceful Gardens_ are all versions of the pond on our property."

"Oh, I adore _Peaceful_ _Gardens_ ," Kellie said, sighing dreamily. And Justin barely held back a snort of laughter; he could only imagine how she would react if she ever heard the story behind that piece. Not that he had any intentions of sharing; that story was for him and Brian alone. "I placed a bid on that one, since apparently someone made an offer for it already."

"Kellie," Justin admonished, placing his hand over hers. "You shouldn't have; you know that I would be happy to create something for you."

"Nonsense," Kellie said, dismissing his concerns with a wave of her hand. "I really loved the colors of it and wanted it for my office. I'm having it redone, and it will look perfect on the wall behind my desk."

Justin huffed and shook his head, but knew better than to argue.

"Well, if it doesn't work out," Justin insisted, holding his hand up when she made to protest. "Let me know and we'll work up a commission for your office based off that one."

Justin smirked as Kellie huffed and rolled her eyes, but nodded; as she too, had long come to recognize Justin's notorious stubborn streak.

"I also put in an offer for this one," Kellie said, nodding to _Color in the Rocks_. Justin just looked at her in exasperation; and then he silently vowed to create something for her as thanks for her years of support if it was the last thing he did. "I'm planning on putting _that_ one in my summer house."

"I do love this one," Justin said, smiling at the piece, remembering the very out-of-character picnic that Brian had packed that day, along with Justin's sketchbooks; and then he dragged Justin out of bed for a day on the coast. "Well, really, I love them _all,_ seeing as that most of them either came from Britin or from pictures we took during our honeymoon tour."

Kellie nodded and looked up at the picture, a delighted smile on her face.

"But this one was from when we were visiting England, Scotland and Ireland," Justin smiled, remembering quaint cottages, cool mornings spent in bed and endless day trips to some of the most beautiful places that he'd ever seen. "Just like most that set over there. [_Sound of Harris_](https://imgur.com/DohWXk0) is of a sound of the same name in Scotland; _[Sun Setting over Bowland Hills](https://imgur.com/HHVIH5L)_ is again, as stated; and I think [_Squall Over Low Dale_](https://imgur.com/LJHAoS9) was when we were in Ireland, but I'm not sure as the pictures got all jumbled."

"Really? Come show them to me and tell me about them," Kellie demanded as she looked over her shoulder with a frown; but then she turned to Justin and smiled, practically dragging him towards the pastels in question. Justin protested, wanting to grab his drink before they headed off, but Kellie determinedly plowed on without care.

"Tell you about it?" Justin laughed, but eventually gave in and let her shepard him across the room; he could always grab another drink once he'd met Brian over at the bar. "You heard all about the trip and saw all of the pictures years ago."

"Yeah, but this way I can imagine the story behind the painting…" Kellie smiled, but there was something tight around her eyes that had Justin wondering at the abrupt change in her mood. "Or well, pastel? Is that how you'd say it?"

"Yes, they are pastels," Justin nodded, barely holding back his own frown as he studied her expression for any clues as to why she seemed so wound up all of a sudden. "I decided to stay away from paints while Sunbeam was incubating so that I didn't have to listen to Brian bitch anymore than necessary."

"And we know how good he is at that," Kellie smirked, and almost seemed to return to normal; but Justin could still see lines of tension around her eyes and mouth.

"Don't we ever," Justin agreed with a small smile. "I've had a hell of a time convincing him to let me paint the nursery as it is…" Justin trailed off as he caught Kellie looking around, her face pinched. And now he was _really_ worried. "What? What's wrong?"

Kellie bit her lower lip and looked back at Justin with a worried moue.

"I don't want to alarm you," she said, glancing in the direction from whence they'd come. "But while we were talking, I thought I saw someone drop something into your drink." Justin froze; his blood chilling as he stared at her in disbelief. Kellie shrugged. "I couldn't see who it was as they were behind someone; all I saw was a hand dropping what looked like a pill into your drink. So I pulled you away before you could drink it."

"Where...?" Justin asked a bit sharply, feeling bad when she looked at him in surprise; but with everything that had happened lately, he needed to know if his drink had been spiked. "Is it still there?"

"I don't know," Kellie hesitantly said, craning her neck to see if the glass was still there; and then sighing in frustration when another patron blocked her line of sight. "I just didn't want to bring it to your attention while we were standing there, just in case the person overheard."

"We need to get that glass," Justin insisted, his stomach sinking as he walked back over to _Color in the Rocks_. "I don't know if you've heard," he said as he looked over his shoulder. "But someone has been stalking me; and if there is something in there, I want to know what this asshole was trying to drug me with."

But when Justin reached the small table that he'd set his glass on, it was missing. Blowing out a frustrated breath, he scanned the room, looking for anything, or _anyone_ out of place, but nothing seemed odd and no one was paying him any mind.

"Fuck," Justin cursed under his breath; he rubbed the back of his neck, feeling the start of another headache as he turned to Kellie and asked. "Was there anything else that you noticed?"

"Not really," Kellie said; her eyes wide and startled. "They were wearing a dark jacket, with some sort of animal on it. But that's all I noticed."

"Was it a wolf?" Justin asked, hoping that they'd finally have something to nail this guy with; after all, there were cameras everywhere in the gallery and if he'd gotten caught on video, they might just have a chance of tracking him down finally.

"Maybe," Kellie hedged, and then shook her head with frustration when she couldn't give a more definitive answer. "I didn't get a good look at it." She paused and then gave him a distressed frown. "I'm sorry. Maybe I should have said something sooner…"

"No, it's fine," Justin reassured, soothing her nerves even as his ramped up when he thought of how close he'd come to drinking whatever was in his glass. He placed a protective hand over his belly. Taking a deep breath, he kissed her on the cheek. "Thank you for stopping me from drinking it. I don't even want to think about what might have happened to Sunbeam if I had."

"Of course, Justin," Kellie said, her face still pinched with worry as she pressed a kiss to his cheek in return. "I hope everything works out and you find this person."

"From your lips to God's ears," Justin murmured, looking around the room for Carl, and frowning when he couldn't find him. "Now, if you'll excuse me; I need to talk to someone." Kellie nodded, waving him off. Justin tried to smile, but he knew that it didn't reach his eyes when she just continued to fret. "I'll talk to you later."

He let out a nervous breath, and then set out to find Carl; hoping that Kellie was mistaken, but the growing unease in his stomach told him she wasn't.

**… … … … …**

Justin looked all over for Carl, and couldn't find him. And it didn't help that every time he moved, he was distracted by yet another patron that wanted to talk to him about this piece or that; until finally, Justin just gave it up as a lost cause for the night. Rubbing a hand over his face, Justin looked around, and as the gallery was starting to clear a bit, he decided that now was as good a time as any to take a break.

He slipped out of the main gallery and into the little nook where the bar had been stashed, making a frustrated sound in the back of his throat when Carl walked right past him while talking on the phone. Of all the annoying... Well, at least he'd also found his wayward husband, who was sitting at the bar,  talking to a pissed off looking Emmett.

Justin watched them for a moment, noting the tension running through them both, and that made the ball of lead in his stomach grow. Fuck, what the hell had happened now? He walked towards the bar, frowning when Emmett looked up and instantly stopped talking; he nodded in Justin's direction, making Brian turn around and smile, but it was a weak thing at best. Well, wasn't this peachy?

He smiled back, just as tightly, which of course made Brian frown and run his eyes over Justin, checking to see if anything was wrong. And then his frown deepened when he realized that Justin was just as tense as he was. Sighing, Justin walked over and sat down on the stool next to him, nodding when Emmett set an unopened bottle of water in front of Justin. And thank fuck for that, as he didn't want to ask for an unopened bottle, and risk Brian's alert system ratcheting up to DEFCON 1.

There were no levels two or three in his current system; it was either all systems normal, or maximum force readiness these days.

"All right," Justin said, as he turned to his husband with a frown; not for one second missing the look that Brian and Emmett exchanged as he did. "So, do you want to tell me what's going on?"

"About what?" Brian asked mildly, a small smile on his face; but Justin noticed that it didn't quite reach his eyes.

And oh, fuck no; they were not going to play this game with Justin. He knew that there was something wrong just by the way Emmett kept twitching every time Justin glanced his way. And it certainly didn't bode well that Brian refused to meet his eyes when he just stared at him in disbelief.

"Don't even, Brian," Justin huffed, looking between the two conspirators with annoyance. He was so not going to let them coddle him. "I know you too well; and there is something you aren't telling me." Brian opened his mouth as if to protest; but then stopped when Justin frowned. "Don't _lie_ to me, Brian. Now what is going on?"

Brian remained silent for a long moment, his eyes grave as they studied Justin, his mind obviously weighing the pros and cons of telling Justin. And then he sat up as if he'd made a decision. Justin arched a brow.

"Can't you just let it go with me saying there was a valid reason for me asking Ethan that question?" Brian asked rhetorically, throwing Justin off because he'd forgotten all about Ethan in his recent, potential brush with the stalker.

He narrowed his eyes; Brian knew damned well that wasn't what Justin had been talking about, and the fact that he was deflecting by bringing Ethan up again pissed Justin off to no end. But fine; he'd play his game for now, as he _was_ a bit curious as to why Brian had acted as he did, all but jumping down Ethan's throat when he mentioned the lack of portraiture in Justin's current show. It had been an odd reaction.

"No," Justin said slowly, his eyes growing hard as he stared at Brian, conveying the fact that he knew damned well what Brian was doing and he wasn't falling for his shit. Something he hoped came through in the double meaning of his words. "Because you know damned well that I hate to be kept in the dark; now, again, what happened?"

Brian winced, but held firm under his gaze; and fuck, now Justin was seriously pissed.

"I know you're going to be angry with me, Sunshine," Brian said, and again, he could hear a double meaning lying under the words, with Brian acknowledging that Justin knew something was going on, and he wasn't addressing it. "But please let me finish before you get pissed off and yell at me."

"I'll try," Justin huffed, wondering what the fuck had Brian choosing his words so damned carefully. He eyed his husband warily. "But I make no guarantees." Brian frowned, but Justin held firm. "That's the best you're going to get. Take it or leave it."

Brian frowned unhappily, but nodded. He slammed the rest of his beer and then waved his hand at Emmett, asking for another. And the dread in Justin's stomach grew as Emmett opened up another beer and handed it to Brian, watching with a tight smile as Brian nearly downed that one too.

"That's not making me feel any better, Brian," Justin said, growing more and more fearful with each passing moment; because, what if the stalker had made a play for Brian as well? Brian looked at Emmett, and nodded to a pad of paper and a pen. Emmett hesitated, looked between Brian and Justin, and then sighed and handed it over.

"Just give me a minute to put my thoughts together," Brian said with a thin smile; and then he began writing, even as he explained the Ethan debacle. But, again, there seemed to be a hidden meaning in his words. "A lot has happened tonight; and most of it I told to be kept under wraps. Although, I did tell Tak and Carl that if you wanted an explanation, they were shit out of luck; and that I was telling you."

Brian passed him the note; Justin just looked at him like he was crazy, because seriously, how had this become his life? Brian nodded to the paper. Justin looked down and gasped, his heart pounding in his ears as he read, ' _we think the stalker struck again and tried to drug or poison my drink._ '

"Well, I'm glad to hear that you weren't deliberately keeping it from me for my own good," Justin said in a neutral tone as he wrote back, ' _why?_ '

"Oh, don't give me that much credit, Sunshine," Brian huffed mirthlessly, and Justin knew it to be the truth; Brian _would_ have kept this from him if he could. "I was more than happy to keep quiet and I didn't fight it for that exact reason. I won't lie to you."

Brian quickly wrote, ' _I was getting ready to come to the bar to meet you, when a server came up to me, claiming he was bringing me my drink. But I hadn't ordered anything; and call me crazy, call me paranoid, but I wasn't going to take the chance._ '

"Well, it's not like it's a surprise to me that you're an overprotective asshole," Justin huffed, his body going numb as he read the words; he swallowed thickly and licked his suddenly parched lips. "Spill."

Justin felt silly doing this, but he imagined that Brian had a reason for doing it; so, he wrote back. ' _Don't blame you. What happened?_ '

"You know how I told you about the break in at Sydney's?" Brian said, writing his next note and passing it to Justin. ' _Carl took me to the kitchen in the back and had me wait there with the drink, while he called it in. Tak came and took samples, bagged up the empty glass and interrogated me._ '

"Yes," Justin nodded; well at least that answered that question. No wonder he couldn't find Carl earlier. "I remember you telling me that one of my paintings had been defaced; but not which one."

Justin took a deep breath, and decided to mention his own potential drugging, ' _well, that explains why I couldn't find Carl earlier._ '

"Please," Brian huffed, but his eyes were sharp on Justin's face, his frown deepening as he noticed Justin's stress. "As if you haven't already figured it out."

Tapping the pen to his lips, Brian's eyes grew dark and then he began to write, ' _why would you need to see Carl? Did something happen?_ '

"I have my suspicions based on some things that have been said," Justin nodded; he took a deep breath knowing that as soon as he wrote this down, they would be entering DEFCON 1 territory. ' _Kellie said that she thought she saw someone slip something into my drink earlier; likely about the same time as you were getting your drink._ '

Brian inhaled sharply, his eyes flying to Justin's.

"But that's all they are – suspicions," Justin said, again with the double meaning. "I would have gone looking, but knew I'd likely not find anything."

"Showing restraint, Sunshine?" Brian teased, but his eyes were filled with fear as he wrote, ' _you couldn't find anything?'_ Justin nodded. "How unlike you."

Justin picked up the pen and flipped the page over, ' _we went back to grab the glass, but it was gone. I have no idea if_ _he_ _grabbed it, or if it had just been picked up by a server. But in the end, I guess it doesn't matter as we couldn't find it. Unfortunately, Kellie was more concerned with getting me away, so I wouldn't drink it, than preserving it._ '

"Which one?" Justin asked, continuing on with this weird ruse, and wondering why they were playing out a bad spy movie. Brian leaned against the bar, his face unreadable.

"It was the one you did of me," Brian finally said, not bothering to write anymore; and Justin frowned as he tried to follow this bizarre situation. "The one where you had me posing on the chaise, in the guise of Bacchus."

Justin nodded; he had figured that out a long time ago. There were only so many paintings that it could have been, and only one that would have had Brian reacting the way he did. But there was also something more under his words; something more that Brian was trying to tell him. He thought back on their conversation with Ethan and then it clicked.

"So, when Ethan asked why there were no paintings of you..." Justin said slowly, his mind quickly piecing things together. "You thought that he was referring to…"

"Yes," Brian nodded, again not writing anything down; because there was no need to in his eyes. What happened tonight, and Ethan's presence, seemed to have meshed in his mind.

At least at that point in time.

"You think _he's_ the stalker?" Justin asked incredulously, fighting back a laugh at the how ludicrous that sounded. Brian nodded hesitantly, but there was a flicker in his eyes that had Justin narrowing his again. Brian huffed, knowing he's been caught.

"It's not funny, Sunshine," Brian groused, scrubbing his hand over his face as Justin impatiently shoved the pad of paper and pen at his husband and pointed to them. "You have to admit that the question was odd."

And yes, he did have a point; but Ethan? Seriously?

Brian grabbed the pen and hastily scrawled, ' _I did think that at the time, but there has been a new development, and I'm not sure what to think anymore._ ' Justin read it and nodded, and then couldn't help himself as he laughed again. Ethan was many things in Justin's mind; but clever enough to pull this off? Not at all. Brian scowled.

"Sorry," Justin said as he tried to quell his giggles and focus on the more serious matter at hand. "I just have a hard time believing that it's Ethan. He's a passive-aggressive narcissist, far too wrapped in his own importance to care about what I'm doing. Before you came over, he spent the entire time talking about how great he was; and honestly, he was so caught up in fawning over himself that I doubt he even noticed that I was there. I could have been anyone. I just don't see it."

Justin tapped the paper with the pen, his mind going over everything he knew before he wrote his next question, ' _and is this new development the reason for all this cloak and dagger shit; because, I have to tell you, honey; this is fucking weird._ '

"All the better to throw you off, wouldn't you say?" Brian huffed, and grabbed the pen and paper. And again there seemed to be some double meaning in that sentence; especially when Brian followed it up with a soft, "people change."

But on the pad of paper Brian wrote, ' _they think that the bartender was either the stalker or an accomplice. And again, I know it's fucking paranoid of me, but I'm taking no chances that this asshole has found a way to listen in on any conversation held here._ '

"I'm sure they do," Justin huffed and grabbed the pen and paper. "And in Ethan's case, he's grown even more infatuated with his own image. I wouldn't be surprised if he sat at his mirror every night and told his reflection just how wonderful he is. I just don't think it's him."

Brian hummed, but didn't respond; but he did grab the paper and pen back and scrawled, " _So why don't you?"_

" _Simple_ ," Justin wrote, still feeling silly; but willing to humor his husband that had watched far too many spy thrillers for his own good. " _While I'll admit there is something familiar about the person, I didn't recognize the man that assaulted me in the grocery store; nor have I recognized him the two times that I've seen him lurking. Ethan, I know on sight. Plus, he was too bulky to be Ethan. And while he was about my height, he also was a bit taller than me."_

" _It doesn't mean that he isn't involved somehow_ ," Brian pointed out; he looked up at Justin and sighed when Justin just gave him a ' _you can't be serious'_ look. " _He is still far too invested in our relationship failing, and in_ _you_ _, for me to rule him out completely_."

"My gut says that it's not him," Justin said aloud, shaking his head when Brian frowned. "Ethan is far too in love with himself to ever truly want anyone in his life; _unless_ they bring him the two things he wants the most – fame and fortune. And yes, I suppose I could bring him those things, but he knows it's a lost cause. The only reason he's so invested in our failure is because it hurt his ego that I dumped his ass and then immediately went back to you without even mourning his so-called loss."

"Well, I'm not convinced," Brian said, ripping the pages they'd used out of the notebook, and folding them up. He handed the pad and paper back to Emmett, who looked a little green around the gills; and Justin realized that he probably knew what was going on due to the fact that it was _his_ business that stalker or accomplice had used to get close to him and Brian. "But I will pass this onto Tak."

Justin smirked as Brian held up the notes; again with the double meaning. When the fuck had this become his life? And then he sobered, because paranoid or not, Brian had a very good reason to be worried. Because if their drinks had been drugged, then that meant that this asshole was escalating again. And that scared the shit out of him.

Meeting Brian's eyes, he leaned forward and rested his head against his husband's, shuddering as he thought of how close they'd come to something potentially tragic tonight. Brian wrapped his arms around Justin's neck and seemed to just breathe him in, his body shaking as well. Justin ran his hands over Brian's hair, drawing comfort from his nearness and reassuring himself that he was still there.

"We'll figure this out, Sunshine," Brian whispered as he pressed his lips against Justin's brow, his fingers toying with the fine hairs at the nape of Justin's neck. "I promise."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sound of Harris, Squall Over Low Dale, and Sun Setting on Bowland Hills are all by Norma Stephenson. While I do know for certain that Sound of Harris is in Scotland, and the Bowland Hills are in England, I have no idea where her piece Squall Over Low Dale is set, so I just had Justin attribute it to Ireland. It more than likely was in England however, as the vast majority of her art is of the English countryside.


	78. March 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I was going to do two today (now yesterday), but I ended up plotting on this story with my beta for most of the day, just squaring away details and taking care of potential plot holes. So, I only have one for you. I'll do two tomorrow (now later today) and that will have me all caught up on the outline.
> 
> Also, this is dedicated to SandiD; Happy Belated Birthday! I hope this is everything you hoped for in a 'March 16' vignette. :)

**March 16**

Brian leaned back in his chair, tired and on edge due to the night before; but he also hadn't wanted to refuse Mother Taylor's invitation for brunch. He knew that she'd want a chance to talk to Justin about the show, as she'd only been there for an hour before she'd become ill and had to leave.

Something that now concerned him greatly given the events from the night before. He could easily see the stalker wanting Mother Taylor out of commission if he were planning to do…whatever it was he'd planned to do. Brian didn't even want to consider of the possibilities right now; he'd had enough nightmares last night.

Taking a sip of his coffee, he watched Justin and Mother Taylor talk, the both of them looking less than their best. Justin, he knew, had spent the entire night having vivid nightmares about something happening to Sunbeam because Kellie hadn't caught the guy spiking his drink. (And he swore that when they finally caught this guy, he would _find_ a way to get to him and beat the shit out of him for that alone). And Mother Taylor was still likely feeling the effects of whatever made her ill last night.

Maybe he'd talk to her about going to get a check up just to rule out any tampering; he might be giving into his paranoia again, but better safe than sorry.

"Is everything okay, dear," Mother Taylor asked, frowning in concern as she noted the bruises under Justin's eyes.

Justin held up one finger as he finished his, surprisingly normal, French toast. Well, normal for him anyway. The Toffee-Apple-Cheesecake French Toast with Caramel Syrup was still loaded down with what had to be a half-pound of sugar; but at least it didn't have wasabi or some other weird shit like that on it. Justin set down his fork and wiped his mouth with his napkin.

"I'm fine," Justin said, glaring at Brian when he snorted. "I'm just tired. I feel like I've been running around for days due to the opening; and then last night, I didn't sleep well because I couldn't get comfortable."

Jen looked skeptical at that, but didn't push.

"Haven't you gotten one of those specialty pillows for pregnant people?" Molly piped up, garnering everyone's surprised looks. Molly shrugged. "What? One of my friend's older brothers had one and swore by it."

"Not yet," Justin hedged; Brian arched a brow; because although he knew Justin had said that to placate his mother, there was also a ring of truth in his voice. "I've just been using extra pillows so far; but I might have to break down and buy one soon, as I seem to get bigger every day and I can't seem to find a comfortable position to lie in."

Brian sighed; of course, the little twat hadn't done anything.

"You should have told me," Brian said, exasperated that Justin hadn't said anything about his discomfort before now. "We could have gone shopping for one today."

Justin just stared at him as if he'd grown another head; and okay, Brian got that. Justin hated shopping with a passion on a _good_ day; there was no way in hell that he'd ever want to do it when he'd barely gotten any sleep the night before.

"Today, I just want to relax," Justin said, finishing up the last bit of his French toast; and then he forlornly stared at Brian's plate. Brian sighed and shoved his leftover omelet over to him. Christ, his appetite was a thing of disgust and awe. Justin fell on it immediately, a bright grin on his face. "I'm _far_ too tired to go shopping with _you_."

"You make it sound like it's a hardship," Brian huffed; so he liked to go shopping and could get lost in his favorite stores for hours on end. He was allowed at least one stereotypical gay trait considering he'd pretty much shunted the rest aside. Justin rolled his eyes.

"Brian," Justin said, rolling his eyes _again_ when Brian crossed his arms over his chest. "If shopping was an Olympic event, you would not only win the gold, but you'd also close out the entire category. There is a reason I refuse to go shopping with you."

"He does have a point, dear," Mother Taylor laughed, serving Justin yet another helping of French toast that she'd conveniently had warming in the oven, who fell on it with delight much everyone's amusement. Brian shook his head and gave up. "There aren't many that can keep up with you when you're in shopping mode."

"I can," Molly stated with a smug smile; Justin snorted, likely in response to the utter horror that Brian felt at the thought of going shopping with a teenage girl. "I have no problem keeping up with Brian."

" _Good_ ," Justin grinned, his eyes sparkling with mischief as he looked over at Brian. "Then next time _you_ can go with him; it will save me hours of boredom." Brian scowled, his eyes promising all manner of payback for throwing him under the bus, so to speak. Justin smirked. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to pee. _Again_. I'll be so glad when this shit is over."

Justin hefted himself out of the chair and then walked down the hall to the guest bathroom. Mother Taylor watched him walk away, a frown on her face the entire time; and then she turned to Brian once Justin had entered the bathroom and closed the door. He sighed when he noted the determined look on her face; he should have known this was coming.

"Now, what actually happened?" Mother Taylor asked in a no-nonsense tone.

"What do you mean?" Brian hedged, knowing he'd never get away with it, but needing a moment to decide on how much he could tell her.

"Please Brian," Mother Taylor said, tapping her fingers on the table, while Molly looked back and forth between them. "I know my son; and I know when he's lying."

Brian rolled his lips between his teeth and silently cursed; this really put him between a rock and a hard place. while he really wanted to fill Mother Taylor in on all the details; he'd already been cautioned against saying too much.

It was an active investigation, and he really wasn't certain what he was allowed to disclose and what could potentially get him into hot water. Something that he hadn't even thought of when he'd told Emmett and Ted about Blaine. It was only when Justin questioned him later that night on whether or not he should fill Daphne in on the new stuff that that he'd even considered the fact that they could get in trouble for giving out information. So he was doubly cautious now.

"Something happened at the opening after you and Tucker left," Brian said carefully, trying to give just enough information to sate Mother Taylor's curiosity without going into the details. "We think that the stalker struck again; but we aren't sure. We're waiting on word from the detective in charge as there are only suspicions at this point."

"What happened?" Molly asked, displaying the same insatiable curiosity that her brother had had when he was the same age. Hell, it was the same insatiable curiosity that he still displayed to this day.

"I honestly can't talk about it right now," Brian said, holding his hands up in a placating gesture when both women frowned. "Not until we have viable proof; and then, maybe not even then. I was told to keep things quiet, and to _only_ tell Justin as it affected him directly. I could ask Carl, and find out what information would be okay to disclose; but don't hold your breath. The more people that know, the more chances of it getting out."

"So he's worried about that," Mother Taylor said, nodding and then looking away as she coughed into her hand. And Brian once again thought about asking her to go get checked by her doctor, but didn't know how to say it without giving things away.

"He had nightmares all night," Brian said, rubbing his hand over his face, deeply tired himself as every time Justin jolted awake, it jarred Brian into full wakefulness as well. "I fucking hate this; I feel so useless; and every time we think we might get something on this guy, it all falls apart."

"He'll slip up soon enough," Mother Taylor said, sounding absolutely certain of it; Brian hoped that she was right. "He's making himself far too visible these days; he's bound to mess up eventually and then you'll get him."

"I hope so," Brian muttered mostly to himself. "Because at the rate we're going, I'm ready to bundle Justin up and stuff him into a tower in the middle of nowhere a la Rapunzel."

"Oh, he'd _love_ that," Molly snorted, her eyes gleaming; and then she leaned forward and pleaded. "Please do try; I love when Justin queens out. It's funny as shit."

"Are you kidding?" Brian snorted, looking at the mischievous brat that was far too like her brother for anyone's peace of mind. He pitied the man she ended up marrying one day; or woman for that matter. From what he'd heard, she was definitely of the gender doesn't matter persuasion. Craig had been so thrilled to find _that_ out. "I like my balls right where they are – firmly attached to my body."

"Language," Mother Taylor mildly, scrunching her nose up at their little exchange. "There is no reason to be crude." And then she smirked. "Even if it is true."

They all laughed until Justin came out of the bathroom, still looking completely exhausted; and Brian vowed to take him to the loft immediately after brunch so that he could rest while Brian took care of the little matter that was Deb. He still wasn't happy that she'd pressured Justin into issuing those last minute invitations to Mikey and Ben. And while he loved her, he was no longer going to tolerate her meddling.

Finishing off his coffee, Brian leaned over and pressed a kiss against Justin's temple as he sat down, garnering a soft smile before he attacked his food once again. Brian shook his head; he would never understand that boy's appetite.

The conversation flowed around him again, with Justin and Mother Taylor discussing the better points of the evening until Justin paused and turned to frown at his sister. Molly just looked up with an innocent smile, still merrily humming a familiar tune that Brian couldn't place under her breath.

"Why on Earth are you humming the song from Tangled?" Justin asked, watching his giggling sister with no little amount of confusion.

Brian face palmed, desperately trying not to laugh at his bratty sister-in-law as he finally placed the tune to the song _When Will My Life Begin_ from Disney's retelling of Rapunzel. Mother Taylor wasn't so lucky; or maybe she just wasn't so circumspect, as she outright laughed at a grinning Molly and a confused Justin. In the meantime, Justin stared at them all as if they'd lost their minds; and then, deciding he didn't want to know, began eating his French toast once again.

God, save him from bratty Taylors; especially ones that share his name.

**… … … … …**

Brian pulled up at Deb's house and groaned when he saw Mikey and Ben's car parked just a couple of places down. _Fuck_ ; he hadn't even thought of the possibility that those two might be here despite the fact that it was the Saturday before their departure. He really should've been paying more attention; but frankly, he'd firmly placed both of them out of his mind after his confrontation with Michael.

He'd had far more important things to worry about than to deal with; and the moment Justin had landed in the hospital at Michael's hands, he'd become a non-entity.

Sighing, he briefly considered just driving away and coming back when he didn't have to deal Captain Loudmouth and his trusty sidekick The Weak-Willed Wonder. He just didn't have the patience and he knew, even with Lucille's deft handling last night, Michael was going to somehow think that all is okay and he had re-admittance into Kinneyland.

But just as he was about to say fuck it and pull away, the door opened and Michael and Ben walked out of it and started down the path. And like fuck was he going to let them think they had the power to drive him away.

Opening his door, Brian climbed out of the SUV, ignoring the way Michael halted on the sidewalk. he shut and locked it with the fob; and then skirted the SUV. He nodded to Ben, but didn't say anything, nor did he acknowledge Michael in anyway as he passed. And all seemed to be well, until he got about half way up the path. And that's when he heard Ben impatiently call out to Michael, and that he registered footsteps behind him. Brian groaned internally, but he didn't turn around; not even when they'd caught up to and passed him.

That's when luck ended and Michael stepped into his path, blocking him

Sighing, Brian had no choice at that point, but to come to an immediate halt unless he wanted to barrel right into the pain in the ass. And while he'd dearly love to keep going and knock Michael onto his ass; he knew it wouldn't be worth the resulting headache. He'd learned that lesson years ago, when not one person had stepped up and asked him why he'd hit Michael at the munchers' party.

He rolled his lips between his teeth and internally debated the likelihood that he'd be able to walk around Michael without the idiot putting a hand on him; and then, ruling the odds as being against his favor, he crossed his arms over his chest and arched a brow, hoping that Mikey would just spit it out already and let him get on with his day.

"We're leaving tomorrow," Michael blurted out, twisting the cuffs of his jacket.

And really? That was all that he'd wanted to say to him? No greeting? No apology; weak as it would have been. Just a statement of the obvious, and information Brian couldn't give one fuck about.

Fucking typical Mikey.

"Good for you," Brian shrugged, not even bothering to act like he cared. "I hope you enjoy…where were you going again?" He paused to cock his head to the side as if thinking about it; and then gave an unconcerned shrug when it failed to come to him. "Oh well, it doesn't really matter in the end."

Looking away, Brian started to walk again, but Michael wouldn't budge; instead he continued to walk backwards and block Brian's path. Something that irritated Brian to no end. Really, this was not the way to get Brian to talk to him. All it was doing was annoying him, and he was this close to picking Mikey up and tossing him aside.

"We're going to be gone for about five months," Michael tried again; obviously trying to get a reaction, and thinking that Brian cared for some reason; and _this_? This was exactly why he hadn't wanted Michael to come to the opening. He always assumed far too much.

"I know," Brian said in an unconcerned voice;and this time, he walked around Michael, not even bothering to look at him as he answered. "Ben filled us in."

"Don't you care?" Michael demanded in a choked voice; and Brian couldn't help rolling his eyes at the 'tears' he heard in his former friend's voice; ones that he didn't believe for a second because he knew far too well that Michael could turn them on and off at a drop of a hat. It was a weapon he'd wielded for years and Brian wasn't going to fall for his act anymore.

"Not really," Brian shrugged as he reached the stairs, hoping that would be enough to send Michael whining back to his husband. And speaking of Ben, where the fuck was he? Did he not care that his husband was close to getting creamed if he didn't go away?

"Brian…" Michael whined, latching onto this arm; and that did draw a reaction from Brian, but not the one Michael likely had wanted. Brian whirled around and jerked his arm away, glaring heatedly at Michael for good measure as the other man stumbled a few steps back.

"Michael, I've already said all that I intend to say to you," Brian stated tightly, his hands clenching and unclenching as he fought the urge to hit the idiot. He was just barely holding onto the reins of his temper as it was, and Michael wasn't helping any. "Now, if you'll excuse me; I need to talk to your mother, so I can get back to my husband."

Huffing, Brian spun on his heel, and took a few steps, just wanting to get this meeting with Deb fucking over with; but it didn't look like that was in the cards as Michael doggedly dashed around him. And seriously, what the fuck was it going to take to get through to the little asshole that Brian didn't want to talk to him?

Michael stood on the steps, defiantly blocking Brian's way. His lips quivered as he stared at Brian, tears once again welling in his eyes; and Brian was certain that it was this exact look that had won his mother over, prompting her to cave to his whims once more and finding a way for the little asshole to wheedle his way back into Brian's life. Fucking pathetic.

What Michael hadn't counted on was that Brian was completely unmoved by the act. Michael may have been his best friend at one time;and Brian may have once loved him dearly, but that friendship had waned over the years. It had started when he'd said that Justin should have been left for dead, grew weaker when he'd said all those hateful things the last time Justin and he had broken up and had completely withered away when Justin was hospitalized. He felt nothing for the man in front of him.

"Why?" Michael asked in a hurt and bewildered voice.

"Why _what_ , Michael?" Brian sighed; although, he was pretty sure he knew where this was going; and while he didn't want to go over it fucking again, maybe he needed to in order for Michael to finally realize he didn't have a snowball's chance in hell with Brian. "You need to be a little more specific."

"Why him?" Michael demanded, crossing his arms over his chest. Brian rolled his eyes at the move, his patience thinning with every petulant gesture.

"Opposed to _what_?" Brian asked a little belligerently; but fuck it. If Michael thought he was going to get away with this attitude, he had another think coming. "You? Other people?"

"Just why _him_?" Michael huffed; and really, this wasn't the best way to approach Brian if he wanted information. Luckily for Michael, Brian was more than willing to put him in his place once and for all, so he didn't mind answering this question.

"Why not him? He's everything I have _ever_ wanted and never knew I needed in my life," Brian said without hesitation, ignoring the way Michael swallowed harshly at those words. "He challenges me every day. He has no problem calling me on my shit and telling me to fuck off when I deserve it. He sees the person beneath the facade. He doesn't want anything from me other than my love and support. Why wouldn't I want him?"

Michael shook his head in denial, but remained otherwise silent; and Brian couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for Ben, who was likely not that far behind him, listening to every word. But it was only a hint of remorse; Ben had caused his own problems by not having the balls to stand up to Michael all those years ago and demanding that he be put first.

Like Justin had with Brian.

"Michael," Brian said a bit impatiently, staring at this man that he barely recognized these days; and frankly, one he didn't care to know further. He had been done, and over, with this shit weeks ago. "Even if Justin hadn't been in my life, it was _never_ going to be you. _Ever_. "

Brian paused and stared at Michael, who looked like he was about to cry; but Brian barreled on without remorse.

"You took something that I said as an untried, clueless teenager and blew it up in your mind until it became more important than it really was – the words of a stupid ass kid who didn't believe that he'd live to see the age of thirty, let alone be an old queen in Palm Springs. I just said it to make you feel better; because I knew that if I had ever told you the truth, you wouldn't be able to handle it."

Brian compressed his lips and arched a brow, waiting to see if Michael was going to respond. But Michael just stood there, shaking and taking deep, shuddery breaths as if he were trying desperately not to cry for real this time. And when it became obvious that he wasn't going to say anything, Brian decided to drive it home so there could _never_ be any mistaking in how he felt.

"It was always going to be Justin," he said, shaking his head when Michael looked as if he were going to protest. No way; he wasn't going to let him cling to his delusions any longer.

"I knew that there was something different about him from that very first morning. For the first time ever, I actually _wanted_ to spend more time with someone; and that scared the fuck out of me. Do you honestly think that if I hadn't wanted Justin around that I wouldn't have found a way to get rid of him? You know me; you know what a dick I was back then. That I never sent Justin packing, but always kept him close to me, even when we were fighting, even when we were broken up, should have told you that eventually he'd be the one I changed _all_ my rules for."

Michael shook his head, his lips in a tight white line; his eyes glittered with unshed tears as he stared at Brian; and the hissed when Brian just watched him with an unreadable expression. "I just don't understand why you would want to be with someone that walked away from…"

"Everything you wanted?" Brian quipped, cutting the diatribe off with a mirthless laugh.

Michael looked away; and Brian knew that he'd hit the nail on the head. Jesus fuck; he was so fucking tired of beating his head against this particular brick wall. It was fucking ridiculous just how often this topic came up. Most people only needed to be told no once; why the fuck couldn't Michael get it through his thick fucking head that he was interested!?

Fuck his life.

"I wouldn't have wanted him if he'd stayed, Michael," Brian said, a wry smile tugging at his lips as Michael just stared at him in disbelief.

And he wouldn't have. He'd admired Justin for walking out; respected the fact that Justin had seen that he wasn't getting what he needed and he walked away to find it; even if he'd later realized that it wasn't all it was cracked up to be. It took balls to walk away both times; and certainly more than Brian had back then.

"We were both a mess after the bashing," Brian said with a sad smile. "And neither of us could give each other what the other needed. We couldn't hear or read each other anymore. And he needed to walk away to figure out what it was he really wanted. Did it hurt? Fuck, yeah. Did I want him to stay? Again, yes. I _loved_ him; even if I wouldn't admit it. But, he needed to find himself again. And so did I."

Brian took a deep breath; thinking of that time with Ethan still hurt. God, he'd wanted so desperately to tell Justin how he felt about him. He'd wanted to beg Justin to stay with him, to not leave him. But he also knew that neither of them had been in the right head space then and they would have eventually destroyed each other, and the love that they'd shared, if he'd tried to keep Justin from leaving.

They'd both needed the time apart to become comfortable in their own skins once more and to truly understand what they'd wanted and needed from each other.

"But I always knew that he was going to come back to me," Brian said softly, his eyes misting over a bit. "I saw it in his eyes every time we met up. And that is why he stayed in my life when we both could have easily walked away without a backwards glance. He didn't have to stay at the diner. He could have easily gotten another job where we didn't run into each other on a daily basis. I could have ignored him. But we both, consciously or subconsciously, chose to stay in each other's life. It was always going to be us in the end."

Brian stared at Michael, hoping that this time it sunk in; and even if it hadn't, it wasn't his concern. He had his life with Justin and Sunbeam, and that was all that he needed.

"Goodbye, Michael," Brian said, turning on his heel to walk away; but he did add one last parting shot. "Do us all a favor; take your husband, go to Washington, and don't _ever_ come back. Any good will between us ended the day you put my husband – _the love of my life_ – and my child in the hospital."

And then Brian turned on his heel and walked away, nodding to Ben once again as he passed. He'd deal with Deb another time, when Michael was safely away and across the country. For now, he had a Sunshine and a Sunbeam to get home to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realized when I went back to check my links that I forgot a few links on some of the pictures. One of the sites I post on won’t allow links, so I usually add them after editing. So, I went back onto March 13 and added them in. I’ll also list them here, along with the other pieces I chose for ‘Justin’s artwork’ but didn’t get used.
> 
>  
> 
> [A Quiet Place by Joanne Last](https://imgur.com/AjGcawm)  
> [Summer Walk by Joanne Last](https://imgur.com/YN1NYFr)  
> [Mist by Kasia Kaldowski ](https://imgur.com/FvRszMZ)  
> [Allegro by Joanne Last](https://imgur.com/nm023By)  
> [Almost There by Joanne Last](https://imgur.com/PlrU2AO)  
> [Ridgeway Bowland Falls by Norma Stephenson](https://imgur.com/dYUDLrm)  
> [Untitled by Norma Stephenson](https://imgur.com/aOOeQW4)


	79. March 18

**March 18**

Brian scrubbed his hand over his hair and walked into the police station, only mildly grumbling under his breath over missing yet another lunch due to the ongoing investigation into the stalker. And Blaine; can't forget that new tidbit. But it couldn't be helped; he had another busy day ahead of him and this was the only time he could meet with Carl and Tak. And truth be told, he'd rather miss a thousand lunches if it meant keeping Justin and Sunbeam safe and out of this psycho's hands.

Drawing a deep breath, Brian strode up to the desk and stood, waiting until the woman sitting there had finished her business on the phone. Taking that time to look around, Brian raised a brow when some fresh-faced, teenaged brunet that reminded him a lot of Hunter when he'd first joined the family licked his lips and blatantly looked him up and down as if he were trying to decide which body part he'd wanted to lick first.

Shifting, Brian looked away, shaking his head at the blatant ploy. Jesus, what was it about him and fucking teenaged twinks? They all seemed to think that they had even an inkling of what it took to garner his interest, and that would never be the case. There was only one teenaged twink that had once had that power, drawing Brian in like a moth to a flame as he stood there, fearful and innocent, under a street lamp outside of Babylon.

Prior to that, Brian had never even looked at a twink, let alone one so young. He preferred his tricks to be well-seasoned and packing the kind of body found only on a gym bunny. He liked them tall. He liked them dark. And he liked them easily handled and just as easily kicked to the curb after he was done.

So basically, the exact opposite of Justin.

He'd always told Justin that he'd had no idea what had made him stop and look his way; and that was the truth. What hadn't been true was when he'd also told Justin that he didn't know why he'd taken Justin home with him that night; because that, no matter how fucked up he might have been, he knew without a doubt – once he'd seen the little twat's face, there had been no turning back.

Lust had punched him in the gut, and raged throughout his body, leaving him damned near breathless as he'd watched, transfixed, as a blond angel walked down the street and leaned against the lamp post, the light haloing his face and hair, and beckoning Brian to come closer to take a taste. And taste he did; all night long in fact.

His reaction, however, had left him completely floored; never in his life had he had such an instantaneous desire to take a trick home and fuck him until they could no longer move, let alone leave the bed. To wring every drop of pleasure from his body, and then start over and do it all again. But with Justin, that's what had happened.

And Brian would have kept right on going if the twat hadn't damn near worn him out before passing out himself.

"Can I help you sir?" the desk clerk asked, interrupting Brian's jaunt down memory lane.

"Yes, I'm here to see Detective Nakumara," Brian said politely, turning fully away from the now disappointed twink. Brian just shook his head, amused by the reaction; why on Earth would these puppies think that he had any interest in them whatsoever when he had a beautiful husband waiting fro him at home? "Brian Kinney; he asked me to meet him here."

"If you'll take a seat over there," the woman nodded towards to some chairs close to the brunet twink. "I'll call back and let him know that you're here."

Brian nodded and walked over towards the chairs, but chose to lean against the wall instead; he'd been sitting on his ass all day as it was and it was nice to stretch out a bit. He rested his head against the wall and stood there, mindlessly counting the ceiling tiles for a minute or two, until he heard the door open and a harried Carl rushed in.

Carl looked around and then released a pent up breath when he saw Brian leaning against the wall, and walked over. Brian arched a brow and wondered why he looked so ruffled, but Carl just shook his head and waved him off. Brian shrugged; he figured that he'd manage to get it out of the older man later.

"Hey kid," Carl said, leaning against the wall next to Brian. "How are you holding up?"

"Been better," Brian admitted; he'd given up playing cool with this man as it never worked; Carl had always seen through his act and would just stare him down until he finally caved and told him anyways.

"Justin still having nightmares?" Carl asked, rubbing the back of his neck as he looked around the precinct, nodding to the occasional person as they passed by.

"Yeah," Brian sighed, scrubbing a hand over his face; it had been a rough few nights for them both. "Not as bad as the first night, but he's woken up at least once a night since. Unless I've just slept through the other times and the twat hasn't said anything; which would be just like him."

"As if you aren't as bad," Carl snorted; and then looked around the room for someone, before arching a knowing brow. "Speaking of Justin, where is he?"

"Off rescuing another one of his little lambs from the evil Simon," Brian snorted; blatantly ignoring the knowing look. So what if he was happy that Justin had plans that had prevented his attendance today? His husband didn't need to deal with the stress of this meeting on top of everything else. "He wanted to be here, but I told him to go save the kid instead. I can easily fill him in on everything later."

Carl nodded, a wry smile on his face, letting Brian know that he was one bit fooled by his act.

"So, how many 'lost lambs' does he have under his belt now?" Carl huffed, letting it go for the moment.

"Three with this one," Brian said with only a littlest amount of exasperation; and Justin called _him_ the superhero. If Justin had his way, he'd save the entire world from themselves. Luckily, he managed to contain himself to his little artists. JT strikes again. "Christ, him and his fucking strays. Although, I can't blame him for wanting to help kids who are facing the same struggles that he did when he first tried to break into the art world."

"Has he ever tell you what his beef was with this guy?" Carl asked out of curiosity; Brian didn't blame him as very few in the family knew what those first few months in New York were like for Justin; nor had they ever met this Simon asshole outside of Lindsay. They just knew that Justin was gunning for him after some unpalatable situation had occurred between them.

Hell, even Brian didn't have all the details since Justin tended to get cold and distant and clammed up whenever Simon was brought up. Much to his great annoyance.

"Not in so many words;" Brian conceded with a frown. "But from what I did piece together, he has a reputation for discovering 'hot' new talent; and not just in the art sense if you know what I mean." He paused to arch a brow at Carl, who pulled a disgusted moue. "And then he sweet talks them into letting him ' _guide_ ' them when they reach the big, bad city to pursue their dreams, taking them around and introducing to ' _the right people_ ,' getting them a foot in the door, so to speak. And then, if they were feeling ever so grateful for all his help and wanted to show it by gracing him with their ' _personal_ ' time, well he certainly won't complain. Fucking slime ball."

"Ah," Carl nodded, catching the hidden meaning behind his words and understanding why Justin found the man to be a distasteful boor. "He ever pull that with Justin?"

"Didn't even get a chance to," Brian snickered, feeling irrationally proud of the way Justin looked down his nose at Simon from the beginning. "He saw through him right from the beginning; called him a cunt if I remember correctly. Not to his face mind you, but he was definitely unimpressed. Plus, you know Justin; he's the most independent twat in all of the known universe. He wouldn't even let me help him out; he sure as hell wouldn't have taken a handout from a stranger that he disliked on sight."

"He's has always been a stubborn one," Carl agreed, laughing at Brian's aporetic look.

" _You're_ telling _me_ this?" Brian asked incredulously, shaking his head when the other man just continued laughing. "Try being married to the little twat."

"Oh, I'll leave that to you, son," Carl chuckled, an amused smirk curling on his lips for a moment; and then he sighed heavily as his face clouded over. "Deb is enough work."

"Yeah," Brian agreed, his own expression darkening as he'd still hadn't had the chance to deal with her latest 'let's make Mikey's life easier' ruse. Brian still wasn't happy with how she manipulated Justin into giving into her whims; and he was beginning to wonder if he'd eventually have to distance himself from her as well just to make sure that Michael didn't have a way to pry his way back into Brian's life.

Carl cleared his throat, pulling Brian out of his thoughts again. "She wanted me to invite you over for dinner." He paused and looked at Brian, trying to gauge his reaction to that news. Brian kept his expression neutral as he didn't know just how he felt about that at the moment. "You and Justin. To apologize."

"That might not be a good idea after Saturday," Brian hedged; and it was the truth. He was certain that Mikey had ran right back to mommy as soon as Brian had left him there on the doorstep, whining about how mena he'd been to him; and he was so not in the mood for another one of her ' _poor Mikey_ ' diatribes.

"You mean your little tête-à-tête with Michael," Carl smirked; and Brian was well aware that Carl had long gotten tired of the way Michael twisted Deb around his finger. He wasn't likely to feel any sympathy for his step-son.

"Heard about that, did you?" Brian asked rhetorically, purposefully keeping his face blank; because, even if Carl might agree with him, he did still have to live with Deb when it came down to it. "Mikey run back in and whine to Mommy?"

"Heard _about_ it nothing." Carl snorted, shaking his head. "We actually overheard the entire encounter ourselves when we came up to the door to greet you. Damn doors are thin as shit there."

"That must have gone over well," Brian sighed; fuck, that was even worse in some ways. Because, while part of him was glad that Mikey wouldn't have been able to embellish what had happened, Brian also hadn't bothered to temper his words and didn't want to listen to Mama Novotny defending her precious baby boy from the Big Bad Brian.

"Not as badly as you might think," Carl said quietly, and then shrugged when Brian looked at him in surprise. "Mostly because Jen got on her ass about it before Michael had even showed up that day."

Well, that made more sense. God, he so loved his mother-in-law some  days.

"I…" Brian began, but then trailed off when Tak hurried  through the door and beckoned to them. "Hold that thought for later."

"Brian, Carl, come on back," Tak greeted, shaking both of their hands as they approached; he then turned on his heel and led them through the maze of halls back to a private interview room. Brian looked around a bit disdainfully; he was getting a bit sick of being there. "Sorry for the delay, but I was on the phone with the lab, going over some results for the case."

Brian nodded and sat down in the seat across the table from Tak, but remained otherwise silent; Carl patted him on the shoulder and immediately took the seat next to Brian. And Brian had to admit that he was happy to have Carl there with him again. While he liked Tak for the most part, and trusted him not to jerk Brian around, it was just nice to have that silent supporter at his side to take over if necessary.

"As you know," Tak said, getting straight to the point as he always did. "I interviewed Emmett early Saturday morning before one of his gigs, and he provided what information he had of the person that we'll call Blaine." He paused to open the file in front of him, and Brian couldn't help but raise a brow at his wording; while he had doubted that Blaine was his real name, it sounded as if Tak had reason to believe for certain that it wasn't. "I've since spent the last few days tracking down source and looking into the information supplied by Emmett and found some things that both disturb and frustrate me."

"Like what?" Brian asked, his stomach curling with dread; he really didn't like the sound of that because the last time he'd seen that look on Tak's face, it had been when he'd told Brian that they didn't have any leads for the case.

"While the employee file provided a name – Warren Blaine Anderson – and an address, a Pennsylvania driver's license and a social security number, we've found some discrepancies," Tak said with a frown. "The driver's license itself is fine; it isn't a fake. The problems come when we ran the social security number and the address."

Brian nodded, but didn't say anything; what was there to say? He had already guessed that Blaine's identity was false, so he wasn't surprised that he'd provided false documentation to Emmett for this job.

"The address listed – 3945 Forbes Avenue, No. 10 – is a UPS store that rents out boxes to customers that want a street address opposed to a PO Box," Tak continued with a frustrated sigh. "And when I inquired about it, I found out that the person had terminated the use of it two weeks prior, and hasn't been seen or heard from since. He left no forwarding address."

"So that's a dead end," Brian said; and yes, he was stating the obvious, but he didn't know what else to say at that point in time.

"Yes," Tak nodded, still looking frustrated. "And then, when we ran the social security number, we discovered that was a fake too. The first three digits were from a batch of numbers that have never been issued; something that Emmett wouldn't have realized as Blaine was an outside contractor and therefore would have been responsible for reporting his own income. Which he obviously didn't do. And given his previous line of work, I'm guessing that he did a lot of stuff under the table."

"He was a hustler when I knew him," Brian said with a mirthless laugh. "It's not exactly income that you can claim." He shared a look with Carl. "What I don't get is, why would he get a job with Emmett if he was so obviously hiding something?"

"Good question," Tak shrugged. "If I were to make a guess, I would say that he wanted to establish a way into the Justin's show. Emmett said that he only worked the gallery events for the two months he was in his employ; claimed he was only doing for 'a little extra cash to make ends meet.' His words."

"So, he planned this from the beginning?" Brian asked, completely confused by this new information. "I thought you said he called in with a tip and that he'd only had the one interaction with the stalker? And now it sounds like you have reason to believe that he's a part of it?"

"I don't know," Tak said with a frown. "That is what the caller told me. Whether or not it was this Blaine character, I couldn't tell you. He may very well have taken the job for the reasons stated. But the fake address and social security number definitely concerns me. You don't conceal your identity unless you're hiding something. And the fact that he was there at the show, as the video _does_ place him as the bartender, on the same night that you and Justin both reported issues with your drinks, doesn't bode well."

"Why report the stalker then if he's an accomplice?" Brian asked, still trying to wrap his mind around it; although he did make a mental note to come back to what Tak had said about the drinks.  He really wanted to know if they had found anything wrong with his drink.

"The deal went sour?" Tak suggested, sitting back in his seat. "That's happened before; or something happened that made him realize just how disturbed this individual is and he wanted out; or maybe he finally realized that he was in over his head? Those are just some possibilities."

"So, you're no closer to finding him," Brian sighed, feeling a headache blooming behind his eyes. Of course, it would never be that simple.

"We'll keep looking, but with false information…" Tak trailed off, leaving the rest unsaid; but Brian heard them nonetheless. Again, this person had covered his ass far too well for detection; and that frustrated Brian to no end. He shook his head as Tak sat up and flipped through the file. "So, the other thing I wanted to talk to you about is the drink you brought to my attention. I sent everything in, and placed a rush on it, and the lab finally called me back today, confirming the presence of GHB in your drink; and a fairly significant amount. We obviously have no idea what happened with Justin's drink since the glass went missing, but at least this is proof that there was some sort of tampering of the drinks that night."

"Fuck," Brian cursed under his breath; he fucking _hated_ GHB, and had since Ted had fallen into a coma because of the drug. It was one of the few drugs that he'd refused to mess with even when he'd been popping E like candy. "Well, that's just great."

"Yeah," Tak sighed, scratching his brow as he stared at the file. "Someone really had it out for you it seems. You were smart not to drink it. Now, as for the glass itself; we had it dusted for prints and actually found a few good ones; the problem is, they only match up to Brian and the server. There were no others on there, which Emmett said would likely be the case since Blaine had a habit of wiping the glasses before the servers took them away. He claimed it to be a habit because he hated sticky, or dripping glasses, but..."

"The most likely reason is that he didn't want to be detected, of course," Brian said, his frustration growing again. He didn't even know why he bothered anymore as it seemed like he'd received nothing but bad news lately. 

"Interestingly enough," Tak continued with a hum. "We did get a hit on server; it turns out that he was arrested a couple of years back for possession of illegal substances, GHB being one of them. But he swears up and down that he didn't have anything to do with the GHB in your glass. And video shows that him picked up the glass from the bar, placed it on the tray and took it directly to you. It all happened to fast for him to tamper with it. Blaine on the other hand, We didn't get anything on 'Blaine' pouring anything into it as his back was turned away from the camera the entire time he was pouring the drink."

And well, wasn't that fucking peachy? So they were no closer to nailing this asshole, even with all the new information. Fuck. He was _this_ fucking close to pulling a Rage and tracking down these assholes himself.

"So what do we do now?" Brian asked, completely exhausted by everything. It felt like every time that they had a lead, it turned into a dead end and he wasn't sure how much more of this he could take. "Because, I have to be honest, I'm ready lock Justin up in a tower and throw away the key with the way things have been going; and _would_ , if I didn't think he'd kick my ass for trying."

"Oh, please _do_ try it," Carl snickered, a mischievous look in his eyes. "I could really use a laugh right about now and that would be fucking hilarious."

"You've been talking to Molly, haven't you?" Brian accused, rolling his eyes as Carl smirked, but remained otherwise silent. Brian just shook his head and then sobered as he turned back to Tak, and listened to where the detective planned to take the investigation next. It was better to focus on something he might have a chance of solving than to dwell on what he couldn't fix at the moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please be aware that while I do research stuff and try to present things as real as possible, I have no idea what happens in a police investigation outside movies and TV shows, which we all know is bullshit. For example, you can’t get fingerprints back instantaneously. Due to several factors and the backlog in work, and jobs that are prioritized or need to be rushed through, it would likely take days to weeks before you’d see anything. The same with a toxicology reports. Also, I have no idea on the testing for GHB, or if you can even figure out how much is in the drink. But this is fanfiction not a real police investigation, and thus belief must be suspended, so please bear with me as I have no idea what I am doing with this.


	80. March 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **FYI:** I have edited and added a bit to the March 18 vignette if people want to go back and reread it.

**March 19 – (28 weeks)**

Deb bustled around her kitchen, a small frown on her face as she made all of Brian's and Justin's favorite things in preparation for their visit. She knew that it wouldn't make up for her moment of weakness, when she pleaded with Justin for the invites for Michael and Ben, knowing damned well that her Sunshine hated to disappoint her, but it was the only way she knew to express her remorse.

She, like Brian, didn't do apologies well; look at what happened to her and Vic. She was stubborn, opinionated, set in her ways and hated to be told that she was wrong; and more, she'd rather have a root canal, without Novocain, than _admit_ that she was wrong.

The life that she had led to date hadn't afforded her that luxury, nor had it given her the chance to be soft or pampered. If she'd have ever backed down to the naysayers, to the detractors, to the ones that told her she'd never be able to support or raise a child on her own, she would have simply curled up in a ball and cried. And she couldn't afford to do that; she hadn't had the _time_ for that nonsense. Not when she'd been a teen mom with a helpless child relying on her for his every want, need and desire.

Which she'd worked her ass off to provide in spades; building a life away from her family and friends, with exception of Vic. Working her fingers to the bone to provide a nutritious meal for Michael, even while eating scraps herself; to provide a roof over his head with a warm bed to sleep in every night, and clothing that may not have been new,but it had kept his ass covered and warm.

It had been an every day, uphill battle trying not to care that she'd often slept alone at night, clothed in pajamas that had seen better days, and feeling perpetually hungry because she was determined that little boy would never feel the loss of a father. Nor would he feel the loss of the rest of the family that had shunned her the moment that they'd learned of her pregnancy. Fuck 'em. She had been young, proud, strong and had more balls than all of those assholes put together.

But that attitude did pose problems now that she no longer needed to fight for that tiny baby's right to love and be happy. Or, more to the point, she knew that she shouldn't still be coddling Michael, and shouldn't try solving all his problems now that he was an adult; but it was so hard to stop. She'd fought so long and hard for him, something that Michael ate up, that she'd somehow missed that magical cut off date, where kids started asserting their independence and learning to take care of themselves.

She'd noticed that this was also about the time that she started having problems with Brian; at first, when he was fourteen, he'd lapped up the mothering like a starving kitten did their mother's milk. After a life with Joan and Jack, he'd been thrilled to have someone to coddle and comfort him; to fix his cuts and bruises. He'd basked in it, listening and looking to her for guidance, just as Michael had.

And it had been wonderful to have two of them to look after, to chase after; Brian quickly became the son of her heart, if not the son of her loins. She'd seen a lot of herself in him – the wild streak, the wicked humor and playful sense of mischief, his strong, independent nature and takes no bullshit attitude. They were all traits that she now wished that she'd instilled into her own son, but had purposely suppressed because she hadn't wanted Michael to face the same trouble and woes that she'd gotten herself into.

(She regretted that now; knowing that it cobbled him in ways that she'd never intended.)

She'd tried to do the same with Brian, but that independent streak grew, and developed into a very strong sense of self; and God, she was so _very_ proud of him. And yet, she was so very terrified _for_ him because he did not sit back and let life come to him. He took the bull by the horns and guided his own destiny, even if it went in a direction that worried her most nights because she'd _been_ there. She'd held that same self-destructive streak and only a helpless baby had reined her wild ways in.

(It was funny how their lives paralleled; because it had been a baby that had started Brian onto his path of self-growth when he'd stagnated emotionally at the age of twenty-one. Thankfully, a sweet, sassy, stubborn twink came along at the same time and rocked his world, and he hadn't had to face it alone like she had.)

The similarities in their personalities is what caused most of their problems. Whenever you put two stubborn people who despised being wrong together, it was bound to cause sparks. Most of the time, they'd fight, go off into their separate corners to stew, and lick their wounds, and then they'd blow it off with a few words; she and Brian had been angry with each other numerous times, and it always worked out in the end.

But she didn't think it would this time, and it scared her. She'd already lost one of her sons because he was being a thoughtless brat, and his husband had stepped in and decided to separate the parties for a while. She didn't want to lose another because of her own stupid interference. Two of them really, because wherever Brian went, Sunshine followed; Justin supported Brian – always had, always would.

She didn't want to lose her boys, but she couldn't help feeling like they were slipping away from her nonetheless and…

"Will you sit down," Carl huffed from the dining room table, where he'd been sitting and watching her run around for the last several minutes. She huffed and hurried past him to peak at the lasagna in the oven, wanting to make sure it was perfect. Her Sunshine had always loved her lasagna and this might be the last…no she wouldn't allow herself to think that way.

"I just want everything to be perfect," Deb fretted, opening the oven door and standing back to allow any steam to escape; she slid her hands into the oven mitts and pulled the bubbling lasagna out. She set it on the stove to cool for 15 minutes before she added cheese to the top and put it in for another five minutes.

"You do realize," Carl said in a cautious tone, obviously not wanting to upset her, but also wanting to be honest with her. "That while this is a nice gesture, they're not likely to do the forgive-and-forget thing any time soon, Deb."

And yes; yes, damn it! She was well aware of that! She didn't need him harping on her and reminding her that she'd overstepped her boundaries once again with the boys. She could tell the other night that Brian wasn't happy with her; why did he think that she was working so hard on this dinner? It wasn't for her health, that's for sure!

"Brian has always…" She said, and then trailed off when Carl snorted; she scowled, because yes, that was a stupid thing she was going to say. She knew it, and yet she just couldn't help herself sometimes. Her mother had always told her that she had no brain-to-mouth filter and that it would get her in trouble one day.

"No, Deb," Carl stated firmly, not allowing her any wiggle room; and even if it annoyed her, she appreciated the fact that he was never afraid to speak his mind with her. "You need to understand that Michael crossed a serious line, and there is nothing you can say or do that is going to make that okay."

Deb huffed again and wiped her brow with the back of her hand; she had to fight back that little voice inside her that screamed out the need to defend her baby boy. She wanted to hiss and stomp and tell Carl to shut his fool mouth because he didn't know her boys like she did and she would damn well make it okay if it was the last thing that she did. But she bit her tongue, because deep down, she knew he was right and she was still learning to do that listen and think before you speak thing.

"I know," Deb said, taking a deep breath as she began to toss the salad, knowing that Brian would rather die than eat a ton of carbs after seven; which is why she'd also grilled up a couple of chicken breasts for him to go with it. "I know. And I promised myself that I wouldn't push. But then Michael came over and he looked so sad, and he was leaving…but, no, you're right. I shouldn't have done it. They're all grown boys capable of making their own decisions. Mostly."

"Deb," Carl admonished, crossing his arms over his chest; Deb looked up and frowned at him, because she knew damned well that he didn't think Michael capable of wiping his own ass some days, let alone make informed decisions.

"Well, you can't tell me that you would put Michael in the same category with Brian and Justin would you?" she challenged, her hands on her hips; Carl looked away. Yeah, that's what she thought. "I mean, I love my kid; but he is as capable as a two-year-old sometimes."

"Sometimes?" Carl muttered, bringing the defensive mother in her to the fore once again; and this time she couldn't hold her tongue. Because yeah, Michael could be a real idiot sometimes, but he was still her son and she wasn't going to let _anyone_ bad mouth him; even if they _were_ right.

"Hey, watch it, buster," Deb huffed, casting the stink eye at her husband; making Carl just stare blandly back at her. "That's my kid you're talking about."

"And that's what I mean," Carl nodded, making her scowl. Fuck, she hated when he pulled that shit just to make a damned point. "As soon as anyone criticizes him, you jump on their case." He paused and arched a brow when she frowned and slumped into a chair at the table. "You need to stop defending Michael's actions. He is an adult. He is the same age as Brian, and you would never allow Brian to get away with acting this way; why are you excusing Michael?"

"I…I know," Deb said, staring at her hands; and she did know. Carl was right; if Brian had pulled that shit on Ben, she would have been all up his ass about it. "I just…I get so worried about him. He's not like Brian." She paused when Carl growled; she rolled her eyes. "And I don't mean that in a negative way against Brian before you jump down my throat, asshole."

Carl just harrumphed, but didn't say anything.

"Michael has never been self-sufficient like Brian was," she said as she bit her lip and twisted her hands in her lap. "And still is. From the moment Brian turned eighteen and graduated from high school, he knew _exactly_ what wanted from life and what he had to do to get it. And then he worked out a plan and busted his ass to get there. He is a self-made man; he did it all by himself, with no help from anyone."

Carl nodded, a faint proud smile on his face; and while she was glad to see it, and loved that Carl and Brian had gotten so close, she also couldn't help wishing that he'd developed the same sort of relationship with Michael. Although, she did know the only reason that they hadn't was all down to Michael and his behavior. Carl didn't suffer fools, and her idiot son just couldn't help acting like a buffoon around him.

"And then when Sunshine came into his life," Deb continued, automatically smiling when she thought about Justin; she couldn't help it. He'd quickly wormed his way into her heart with nothing more than that bright smile. "And little by little that tenacious, cute little kid whittled away the walls he'd built up over the years, bringing out this amazing man and father in Brian. The one that I _always knew_ was there, but he'd carefully hidden away so that people couldn't hurt him…it just. I am so happy for them. And I am so incredibly proud of the man that he has become."

"Then what's the issue?" Carl asked with a frown, trying to figure out where she was going with all of this; and she didn't even know herself really. Maybe that was the real problem; she didn't have a clear enough view of the issues.

"Michael isn't like that," Deb said quietly; and she knew that this was largely her fault; she'd coddled and spoiled him, thinking she was keeping him safe, when really she was only hindering his growth. "Sometimes, I think I ruined him by coddling him so much. He's never learned to rely on himself. He's never had to work for anything; it's always been handed to him. He's never had any real goals or dreams or aspirations; he's always been happy to just float along and let everyone around him tell him what to do or how to act and… he's very spoiled. And that's my fault."

"That's the first time you've admitted that," Carl said, his brows raised in surprise; and she didn't blame him. She'd never wanted to admit it to herself. "Usually you blame…"

"Brian." Deb sighed, squirming in her seat as her cheeks flushed with shame. "Yes, I _do_ do that an awful lot; and unfairly. I should've never expected Brian to take care of Michael. I should've told Michael to stop expecting a handout and to get off his lazy ass and do something if he was so unhappy instead of expecting Brian to solve all of his problems. If I could go back in time… there are so many things I'd change. So many things I'd stop myself from saying; and so many things that I'd tell him."

"Then tell him now," Carl huffed; and then he shrugged when Deb looked at him with bewilderment. "It's not too late. Tell him how proud you are of him, and that you don't blame him for Michael's actions. Tell him all those things you've held back before he decides that trusting you with those that mean the world to him isn't worth it if it brings nothing but pain for all of them. It's only right."

Deb sat back in her chair and thought about that; could it really be that easy? She didn't think it was, but Carl made it sound as if all she had to do was spill her guts, and maybe this rift with the son of her heart would be healed. Well, no, it couldn't be that easy; but it would be a fine start and Brian deserved to hear all those things.

"I will," Deb said, jutting her chin out defiantly; because Carl was right and Brian really did need to hear what she thought of him; and then she startled as a husky voice came from the doorway behind her.

"You already did, Ma," Brian said quietly, looking as if he was trying to hold back his emotions. Justin was pinned too his side, his arm supporting him, sporting a small, satisfied grin on his face as he looked between Brian and Deb.

"O-oh, boys," Deb stammered, getting quickly to her feet; she patted her wig down nervously as she hadn't expected them to overhear this conversation. She glanced quickly at Carl, and noticed that he was equally as surprised to see them, so, at least she wouldn't have to kick his ass for setting her up. "I didn't even see you there."

"I'd noticed," Brian smirked, his eyes glinting with humor as he rolled his lips under; and she couldn't help but smile fondly at the familiar gesture. The one that said he was trying to hold something back, whether it be words or emotions.

"I'm so, so sorry, Brian," Deb said, stepping forward to hug him, and then halting uncertainly because she wasn't sure of her reception at the moment. "I knew when I was doing it that it was the wrong thing to do, but I just can't seem to help myself sometimes; I love all of you boys to pieces and I hate to see any of you hurting…"

"Sorry is bullshit," Brian said, cutting off her explanation with a sweep of his hand; and again, it was such a familiar gesture that it made her smile. Brian looked away, uncomfortable as always when it came to emotional discussions; and then he looked back and stated firmly. "Now, this doesn't mean I'm happy with what you did. You need to stop interfering with our lives."

Deb nodded, looking down at her hands; she knew he was right, but it did hurt a bit that he was still holding back his forgiveness. Although, it did make her all the more determined to win back his and Justin's trust in her.

"You grew us up pretty well," Brian said, a small smile flickering at the corner of his mouth; and then he expelled a heavy breath. "Now it's our turn to take care of you."

Deb swallowed thickly and pressed a hand to her mouth, her eyes misting at the words; Brian rolled his eyes and huffed, and she could all but hear him thinking, ' _don't get moist_.' And then she had to snicker at that thought; drawing a reluctant smile from Brian.

"You can't keep doing this," Brian plowed on, his eyes growing dark and serious. "Michael was warned multiple times that I wasn't going to tolerate his attitude towards Justin any longer. And he chose…he _chose_ to continue harassing him. I will not allow him to be a part of my life if he cannot accept my husband. And I shouldn't have to."

"You're right," Deb said, a sad smile on her face. Because she really wanted to make this right for her son; but Brian was just as important to her and she didn't want to abuse his trust by foisting Michael onto him again. "I just…no, there is no excuse. I could blame it on habit, but that is no excuse for going against your wishes. I need to let Michael live his life and deal with the consequences of his own actions. But it's tough; and I might not get it right all the time. I do promise to try; if that's…acceptable?"

"For now," Brian nodded, huffing when Justin nudged him; he looked down at Justin with an arched brow, but Justin just stared back until Brian sighed and conceded. "I just ask that you try; and we'll see.

"And if I'm overstepping you'll tell me?" Deb asked hesitantly; because she knew herself. She would try to earn their trust again, but she'd been defending and coddling Michael all of his life. It wasn't going to be an easy habit to break.

"I will," Brian nodded, rolling his eyes when Justin bounced over to Deb and hugged her; and really that was more than she'd deserved, so she just hugged him back and accepted her son's final warning. "I…hope that we can work this out, Deb. I'd really hate to lose contact with the only mother figure I've had throughout my life. But I will if I have to. Justin and Sunbeam are my life; and for them, I will do _anything_ to keep them safe."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, sorry for my earlier frustration; it wasn't so much the plot and the lack of leads that bothered me, as those things are meant to frustrate the reader a bit. We live in a time where we want instantaneous results and the 30- to 60-minute TV crime drama where everything jells and it's wrapped up in the matter of days, and real police work isn't like that. With the research I've done I can list a half-a-dozen ways fingerprint identification is utterly wrong in its TV portrayal alone. In fact, a lot of cases go cold, or something bad has to happen before they get solved.
> 
> The reason I was frustrated was…you ever have those days where you know exactly where you're going, you have a complete template of where you need to be next and even have the dialogue and bare bones of the scene written, and yet it STILL fights you every step of the way? That's where I was yesterday. It didn't matter how I tried to attack it, that chapter just didn't want to be written, and, in my fatigue, I lost my patience. But I'm back and less frustrated and ready to keep going.


	81. March 20

**March 20 – Child** **Birth Classes: Stages of Labor**

"Guess what day it is!" Justin exclaimed as he practically bounced up to Brian, who was sitting in the living room going over the Aster Avalon account numbers.

"Thursday?" Brian asked dryly, arching a brow when Justin snuggled up to him; he narrowed his eyes and studied his far too chipper husband, wondering what the hell he was up to now. Because he _knew_ Justin and this was just a prelude to something Brian was going to hate; he could tell just by the sweet smile on Justin's face.

"Ha _ha_ , Captain Obvious," Justin deadpanned; he rolled his eyes at Brian's less than enthusiastic response and burrowed further into Brian's side; then he did that slow blink thing that Brian had always loved and prompted. "Guess _again_."

"It's March 20," Brian said, stating the obvious once again to get a rise out of Justin; because he knew the little twat was up to something and he wasn't going to make this easy on him if he could at all help it.

"You know, you're ruining my vibe here," Justin complained, jutting his lower lip out into an exaggerated pout; and really, it took everything Brian had in him not to lean down and pull that full lip into his mouth and suckle on it until Justin forgot about whatever mad plan he'd been concocting. But, well, the twat had gotten him curious now.

"My apologies, Sunshine," Brian mocked, pulling his lips between his teeth to quell a snort of laughter when Justin scowled; and then yelped when his bratty husband pinched him in the side in retaliation. He sighed. "Fine; what day is it?"

"It's Online Childbirth Class Day!" Justin exclaimed, his eyes sparkling with laughter when Brian groaned and let his head fall against the back of the couch. Oh, fuck no! Not those tedious things again. He lifted his head and let it thump back against the couch a couple of times, hoping that maybe, it would knock him out and he'd be spared.

"Justin…" Brian whined; yes, he fucking whined. But could anyone blame him? After the last batch of inanity, he didn't know if he was up to it again. He could feel his brain cells committing suicide just so they didn't have to process such nonsense.

"Brian…" Justin whined back, poking him in the side until Brian huffed, grabbed his hand and tucked it firmly against his chest. Brian tipped his head to the side, stared at a very smug looking Justin and wanted to run from the room screaming.

"Do we have to?" Brian asked, his reluctance evident in every line of his body; he just didn't see the point in watching a video on what seemed like common fucking sense to him. People had been having babies long before these classes were developed and they all survived the experience. Why the hell should _they_ have to do it?

"No," Justin said with an agreeable nod; something that should have made Brian jump for joy, but he knew the twat better than that and he was just waiting for the other shoe to drop. "I _could_ sign us up for the actual classes at the hospital instead; you know, the ones with all the other good little first-time mommies and daddies? Just think of how much fun that would be. You could bond with all the hetero…"

"All right, all right," Brian hissed, shuddering at the idea of attending even one of those classes and making small talk with Joe fucking Schmoe about dilating and effacing and the ripening of the cervix and ick, girl parts. Fucking twat just had to remind him of this shit, didn't he? "Fuck, you've gotten mean since I knocked you up…"

"Gotten?" Justin asked, arching a brow; and well, yes, he had a point. Justin could be a right pain in the ass without all the surging fucking hormones; and pregnancy had nothing to do with his current favorite form of torturing Brian. _That_ just stemmed from his natural brattiness.

"Point," Brian conceded, smirking when Justin turned to him with a suspicious glare. "You always could be a little bitch when you wanted to be…ow!"

Brian glared at his husband, and grabbed his other hand to prevent him from pinching him again; abusive brat. This is the thanks he got for being agreeable. He pinned Justin into his side and tickled him, smirking when he laughed and wriggled and squirmed until he finally managed to pry himself out of Brian's arms.

"You haven't seen anything yet," Justin snorted as he got up from the couch and walked towards the stairs that led to the basement. "Media room! Classes! Now!"

"Fucking twat," Brian muttered, but saved his place and shut down his laptop anyways; because he knew that the longer he stalled the more devious his brat husband would become. "Fine, let's get this shit over with."

**… … … … …**

**What Happens to my Body During Labor?**

Brian stared at the screen in bewilderment, wanting to know what he'd done in a past life to deserve this, and knowing that the twat sitting next to him just had to be pulling his leg today. Because there was absolutely nothing worth mentioning in this fifty-second video, if you could even call it that. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he sighed and ignored his giggling husband, because what exactly had been the point to that?

Leaning his head against the back of the couch Brian prayed for patience as the voice of ' _expert_ ' instructor Edith Bradenbury from Baby Watch washed over him again; because of course the twat had to replay it because he missed something vital. Yeah, right. Vital his ass.

If only he could block this all out and pretend it was all a very bad dream.

" _What's going on in your body during labor?"_ she prattled on, making Brian wonder once again who wrote these fucking scripts, because even his hungover New Year's Day self could have written better shit. " _In a nutshell, your body does two main things to help your baby out into the world. It pushes your baby down and out with contractions of the uterus, the pouch-like organ that's been his home for the past nine months…_ "

"Remind me again why were watching this shit?" Brian huffed, flopping back onto the couch and covering his face with a pillow. Maybe if he pressed hard enough, he could smother and render himself unconscious for the remaining eighteen minutes of torture from this particular birth 'class.'

"If we don't, you will never hear the end of it from my mother or Deb," Justin said, poking him in the foot in an attempt to get Brian to pay attention.

But Brian had absolutely no interest in knowing about how the contractions helped to open up the cervix, (to which she informed them was called dilating; because he couldn't fucking figure that out on his own), so that their Sunbeam would have a way out of the 'pouch that was home.' And really? That was the best you could come up with? Un-fucking-believable.

"Can't we just skip it and say we did it," Brian whined, immediately scrunching his nose up that he pulled a Mikey; that really needed to stop like right the fuck now.

"Nope," Justin smirked, casting a sly glance Brian's way. "There will likely be a pop quiz at some point."

"You have got to be kidding me," Brian said, pulling the pillow off of his face to look at his husband with no little amount of disbelief.

"Oh no, not at all," Justin informed him with a grin; obviously still taking great delight in Brian's pain. "She used to do that shit to me all the time; believe me, I tried to get away with the whole skip it and say I did it route. She _always_ knew and made my life hell for having the audacity to lie to her."

"Fuck that," Brian snorted, pausing to look at the screen in disbelief when the Edith told them once again that there wasn't a single, clear moment when birth began; didn't they cover this shit already? Jesus fucking Christ; this was a nightmare already. He turned back to Justin ad said, "I'm an adult; I don't have to do anything I don't want to do."

"Yeah, good luck with that," Justin snickered, looking far too happy for someone that was watching an absolutely useless and inane video. Asshole. "Please, _do_ tell me when you're planning to tell her that. I want a front row seat; I'll even provide the popcorn."

"But we don't need to know this," Brian pointed out again; maybe if he mentioned this fact enough times, it would sink into his husband's pretty blond head and he'd stop torturing Brian with them. "You're having a cesarean."

"You think that matters to them?" Justin huffed, looking at him like he was crazy; and alright, the twat had a point. "Obviously you've never met our mothers."

"Why me?" he lamented, dropping the pillow back on to his face and barely suppressing the urge to scream into it.

"Hush," Justin admonished, laying a finger against his lips before he pointed to the TV screen. "We're getting to the interesting part."

"The end?" Brian asked hopefully, yelping when Justin jabbed him in the foot once again with his finger. "Twat."

**... … … … …**

**First Stage of Labor: Early Labor, Active Labor, and Transition**

Well, didn't that sound fun?

Brian huffed as Justin loaded the next video; he stuffed the couch cushion behind his head and prayed that this one wouldn't be nearly as painful as the others had been, but he wasn't holding out much hope on that. Even now, looking at the title of the video, he sensed that this was going to be another big, fat waste of his time.

Staring at the screen blandly, bored out of his fucking skull, Brian groaned as Edith stared out of screen and into their home with that calming smile that she always had plastered on her face as she said, _"the first stage of labor has three parts to it: early labor, active labor and transition. But we'll get to these in just a moment, first…"_

"Then why bring it up?" Brian huffed, mostly to himself, but Justin must have heard him as he shot Brian an exasperated look, then huffed and leaned over to flick his big toe.

"Hush, you," Justin said as he turned back to the video; Brian rolled his eyes and tried desperately to give a damn about what Edith was talking about, but he just couldn't muster any enthusiasm since it felt like this entire video was just a repeat of what they were told last week.

" _Throughout this stage, you'll feel many contractions and feel them getting longer, stronger and more frequent…"_ Edith continued, taking her job with a seriousness that Brian had a hard time buying, especially when she looked just as bored saying this shit as Brian did listening to it.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious," Brian deadpanned, shooting Justin a saccharine smile, effused with mock joy as he drawled. "I'm so glad we're watching these, Sunshine. I'm learning so much."

Justin kicked out with one foot and shoved him, nearly toppling him off the couch in the process; and then had the nerve to giggle when Brian scowled at him. Brat. He turned back to the video, grimacing when Edith mentioned the thinning of the cervix and losing the mucus plug again, and really did she need to regurgitate that information? Once had been enough, thanks ever so much. And then he lost all patience when she made the same claim about contractions not more than thirty seconds before.

"Are you sure these videos aren't for the learning impaired?" Brian asked, frowning when she covered yet more information she'd given in the previous videos. Jesus Christ, this was fucking tedious. And pointless since Justin was having a c-section.

Why the fuck were they watching these again?

"Brian!" Justin hissed, likely affronted by his slanderous comments on their birth guru's capabilities, but how the hell was he even taking this seriously?

"What?" Brian groused, sighing when they switched to 'real' mom testimonials, all of them gushing about their various experiences, or in other cases bitching about how they were told to go home because it was far too soon for them to be there.

"I can't believe you said that," Justin huffed, shaking his head; Brian frown and thought back to his comment and then rolled his eyes again. Of course the over-sensitive twat would get bent out of shape because he was maligning his precious videos.

"I can't believe you're making me watch this shit," Brian countered, waving his hand at the TV screen. "We've already gone through most of this during the first set of videos, and the only reason I can see for them repeating the same information ad nauseam is that they are meant for..."

"People like Michael?" Justin cut in sweetly, fluttering his lashes like some fucking demented Queen before going back to the video with renewed determination; Brian just snorted and didn't say anything, as he couldn't really argue with that assessment.

Michael really did need to be hit upside the head with a brick before anything sunk in.

Brian yawned and closed his eyes; Edith's words washed over him and fell away without sticking because they were just more of the same vein – early labor lasts between six and twelve hours (yup, heard that last time); wait until your contractions are 40 to 60 seconds long, every five minutes before calling your doctor (that too); and it ends when you are four centimeters dilated (that was new, but he didn't care because again, they were getting a fucking c-section done). Well this had proven to be a waste of time.

At this point, Brian was getting irritated with the repetition of facts. He got it the first time, thank you very much.And if he hadn't, he could easily log on and watch the damned videos again. Although, the information that active labor lasted between four to eight hours for first-time carriers, caught his attention and he couldn't help wincing. 

"Those poor bastards," Brian said, whistling low in sympathy; that had to suck.

"Yeah, that sounds painful," Justin said, his brow furrowed and nose wrinkled as he rubbed his belly in sympathy for laboring carriers around the world.

"Actually, I was talking about the _birth partners,_ Sunshine," Brian smirked, drawing his husband's instant irritation; he just couldn't resist needling his husband a little. "Can you imagine how terrifying it must be to deal with a screaming, bitching drama princess…oh, wait…I have plenty of experience with…ow!"

Brian drew his legs up into his body and rubbed his smarting big toe, which was throbbing from where Justin had twisted it; little shit. Not deterred in the least, he snickered at a scowling Justin and held his hands aloft, deftly blocking the couch cushion that came sailing his way. He caught it and stuffed it under his head, smirking at a glowering Justin the entire time.

"Asshole," Justin huffed, yanking another cushion over to him and leaning up against it; Brian just laughed. He knew that he'd pay for this later, but for right now, it amused him to no end to get Justin riled up just enough that he got a bit aggressive. It would end up being so much fun later tonight.

But until then, he had to deal with this shit; Christ, how was this his fucking life?

Edith filled them on more facts that, at the very least, weren't regurgitated from the previous videos, but were still pointless. He supposed, had they planned on an actual birth, knowing the stages would be important. But they weren't, so he saw no reason to even care and didn't pay any attention to the rest of the video.

**… … … … …**

**Second Stage of Labor: Pushing and Giving Birth**

The silence and Justin's frustrated groan were his first indications that something was wrong.

Brian looked up, wondering what was taking so long, and then smirked when he realized that the web page was frozen on the screen and a little hourglass kept spinning over and over as the page attempted to load. Justin cursed and muttered under his breath as he jabbed at a button and tried to refresh the page yet again, obviously hoping that it would load faster.

But the hourglass just popped back up, showing that it still wasn't loading any faster than it had before he'd refreshed the page. Justin heaved a sigh and flopped back against the back of the couch and let it do its thing.

"Oh, what a shame," Brian mock lamented, dramatically resting his hand over his heart as if the thought of not being able to watch the next video hurt ; Justin snorted and tossed another pillow his way. He really needed to stop that, or else he was going to run out pillows to lean against; and then what would he do? "It's not loading. I guess we'll have to skip this one."

"Don't even think of moving from that seat, buster," Justin said, pointing his index finger at Brian and wagging it in a warning gesture. "I'm sure it will pull up in a minute. And even if it doesn't, they have the transcript right here and I will read it aloud if I have to."

"Well, you couldn't do a worse job than our friendly birth instructor Edith here," Brian quipped, keeping his feet well away from pinching, grasping hands. "And hey, _you_ have the same number of credentials as _she_ does, so it's not like we're missing out on much."

"You are such a jerk," Justin huffed, getting ready to launch into one of his little tirades, but then the web site decided to actually work, and he crowed triumphantly when Edith popped up on screen in her boring beige jacket, against her boring cream background, with a placid expression on her face. Notice a theme here?

"There. See? I told you it'd pop up," he said just a touch smugly; Brian rolled his eyes

"Oh, joy," Brian deadpanned, and then sneered at Edith. "I don't know how I would have lived had we missed darling Edith's words of wisdom."

Justin snorted, but didn't comment, choosing to focus on the video instead. Brian glanced at the media room door and wondered that, if moved fast enough, could he actually make it out of the room, into his study and lock the door without too many repercussions? He glanced at Justin, who was watching him with a sharp, suspicious gaze, working out his odds; and then he gave it up as a bad idea. Because, while Justin wouldn't be able to move fast enough to coral him right now, he'd make Brian pay in spades later. Better to just give in.

He sighed again and decided to focus on another two minutes of banality.

" _Once your cervix is fully dilated_ ," Edith said; and really, just jump right into the topic without softening the blow, why don't you? It's not like you have to actually greet us or anything. " _The second stage of labor begins. This is where you'll push your baby through the birth canal and out into the world_."

Brian's lips twitched as he fought back the snarky comment that was just dying to slide off his tongue; and to be honest, it was a struggle, it actually hurt to hold the words back. He glanced over at Justin to gauge his reaction.

"Don't say it," Justin instantly said, eyes narrowed and his arms crossed over his chest. Brian held up his hands in a placation, not wanting another pillow thrown his way, or to get pinched again

"I wasn't going to say a word," Brian said, lying through his teeth; not that Justin bought it.

"Yeah, right," Justin huffed, casting a disbelieving look his way. "I _know_ you; and I know that you're dying to say something sarcastic right now."

Instead of reacting,  Brian just mimed zipping his lips, and looked back at the screen without a word, blatantly ignoring the distrustful look that Justin was sending his way. And really, he didn't blame Justin for his reaction; it _was_ difficult holding back the words and expressing how he really felt listening to this twaddle. But he was trying to be good. So, he leaned back and tried to ignore the urge to mock the video, especially when it once again became repetitive and  was talking about stuff that didn't fucking matter because the twat was having c-section.

But, finally, the words built up, burning in the back of his throat like acid, and Brian just couldn't stand it anymore;  and he finally decided to say fuck it and let loose. "Push your baby through the birth canal…?" he said incredulously, shaking his head in despair. "Well, I'm glad they clarified that, because for a minute there, I was worried that you'd have to push it out of your ass."

Justin groaned and face palmed.

"Perfect background music though," Brian continued in a deadpan voice, ignoring Justin as he buried his face into a pillow. "So uplifting. It makes me feel like, ' _we can do this!_ '"

"I hate you," Justin muttered and just leaned over to cue up the next video.

**… … … … …**

**Third Stage of Labor: Delivery of the Placenta**

"I may never get hard again," Brian said, staring at the screen with horror, desperately wishing he could take back the last thirty seconds of his life. He shuddered and then stared at his limp dick mournfully. Ugh, why had  that even a thing? "I just thought you should know that."

"Oh, well," Justin blithely said, his jaw twitching as he tried to hold back his laughter; Brian glared because this was so _not_ funny. "There's always toys."

"I can't believe you just said that," Brian groused, swiping a hand over his face, and wished that he could wipe the contents of the video - which essentially stated ' _your placenta detaches and is expelled during a contraction and you gently push it out_ ' - from his mind. 

Granted, the video it hadn't been the actual problem; oh,no, it had been the accompanying _visual effects_ that had him squirming in discomfort and his stomach rolling over.

"I can't believe that you expect _me_ to believe that you couldn't get it up if I stood up right now, dropped trou and wagged my naked ass in your face." Justin countered, arching a knowing brow as he stared at Brian's crotch; and lo and behold, things started to perk right back up. Yes! All was not lost.

"You do make an excellent point, Sunshine," Brian smirked and then gestured to the empty space in front of him. "Feel free to get up and demonstrate that at anytime."

Justin snorted, but sadly stayed seated.

"If you behave, _and_ make it through the next two videos, I'll be more than happy to demonstrate my appreciation in _any_ way you want," Justin leered; and Brian's dick twitched happily at the thought and then stood proudly to attention. He ran his eyes over his husband's delectable body and licked his lips.

" _Any_ way?" Brian asked, arching an intrigued brow.

Justin nodded and hummed agreeably.

"I'll be holding you to that, twat," Brian stated, allowing them to fall into silence as Justin leaned over his laptop to navigate to the next video. At least he'll get something good out of this travesty.

Brian looked back at the screen and shuddered as he read the title again, the animated short flashing through his mind. Had he really complained about the videos being too bland? If that was how that jazzed things up, he was perfectly happy with bland Edith in her beige jacket and boring cream-colored backdrop.

"Ugh," Brian groaned and grimaced. "Did they _really_ have to provide a fucking animated video of the placenta sliding out the birth canal with that?"

Justin just laughed again and changed the video. Little shit.

**… … … … …**

**What Happens After Delivery?**

"Uh…you pass out because you just spent the last several hours trying to squeeze something that's the size of a small watermelon out of a hole the size of a bagel?" Brian scoffed, shaking his head at the title. "But that's just a wild guess on my part."

Justin snorted, his shoulders shaking as he tried to hold back his laughter; Brian figured that he must have agreed since he hadn't ended up with more bruises on his body due to that commentary. Sighing, Brian rubbed his temple and prayed that this was the last one; and then he cringed when he remembered that Justin had said there were _two_ more. Fuck, he just couldn't catch a break.

Although, he had noticed that Justin getting restless, so maybe, just maybe they could skip the last one depending on what it was about. Scrubbing his hand over his face, Brian turned and perked up when Edith brought up the cesarean sections. _Finally_ , there was something that actually applied to them.

" _Your caregiver will clamp the umbilical cord in two spots and cut between the clamps, or your partner can do it_ ," Edith said with an encouraging smile; Brian rolled his eyes. " _If you ended up having a c-section, your baby will most likely be wrapped in a warm blanket and brought to your partner…_ "

"Do you want to do that?" Justin asked out of the blue; Brian paused. He hadn't really thought about it to be honest. He assumed that since they were having a c-section done, and given that it was major surgery, that there were likely a lot of restrictions about what could and couldn't happen in the delivery suite.

"Um…sure?" Brian said hesitantly, not wanting to commit to anything until they had a chance to speak with Justin's doctor.

"You don't have to," Justin hastily assured, misunderstanding Brian's reluctance. "Because to be honest, I'm not sure that I could do it myself if the roles were reversed; it makes me feel a bit squeamish knowing that I'm cutting into one of your body organs, even if it's one that will soon be expelled."

"Well," Brian grimaced, his mind flashing back to the placenta video; he swallowed thickly and couldn't help feeling a little green around the gills. "When you put it _that_ way...no."

"I just thought I'd ask so I can tell Liz," Justin reassured; and Brian was torn between feeling relieved that Justin didn't mind if he didn't do it and being annoyed that Justin thought he couldn't handle it. "That way you won't have them pressuring you to cut it if you don't want to."

"I think I'm going to pass," Brian stated carefully, searching Justin's face to make sure that he really was okay with this, and then nodded when Justin shrugged. "I can always change my mind later. But right now, it doesn't appeal at all; especially after watching that last video…ugh." Brian paused, and decided to bring up his earlier concern. "Besides, you have to realize that a c-section is a major surgery, Sunshine. I may not even be allowed in the room; in which case, that question is moot."

"You will be," Justin said with certainty; Brian arched a brow. "I already talked to Liz about that. You'll have to wear scrubs, and wait outside while they do the spinal, but once the surgery is about to start, they'll let you in. You do have a point, however; it is major surgery, so they may let you near the incision. I didn't think about that."

"You never told me that," Brian said, trying to recall when Justin might have asked her as he'd been to every one of his doctor's appointments. "When did you talk about this?"

"The other day when I rescheduled my appointment to next week," Justin said, smiling at Brian sheepishly. "We ended up talking for a while as she wanted to know how I was handling the stress from the events of the other night. And I asked about it?"

Brian shook his head, but let it go; they could discuss it later. He tuned back into the video and caught the segment where Edith mentioned the common after effects of labor which included, but was not limited to, shakiness, nausea, fatigue and chills that could last up to an hour. And then she suggested ways to deal with said effects, happily informing them that the best way to deal with the chills and shakes was to cuddle with your partner and baby.

Brian snorted.

"I knew you'd eventually find a way to force me to cuddle with you, Sunshine," he smirked, nudging Justin with his foot.

"Says the man I have to pry off of me in order to pee in the middle of the night," Justin scoffed back, turning and sitting on Brian's feet so that he could lean his back against Brian's legs.

"That's not cuddling," Brian denied, poking his husband in the side. "That's a well-known preventative measure to keep you from sneaking off to eat those fucking Twinkies in the middle of the night."

"Like you could really stop me," Justin quipped; and then snickered when Brian didn't answer, because they both damned well knew that Justin was right.

Most of the time, Brian didn't even discover the little twat was missing until he'd already left the bedroom and was down the stairs; and by then, it was too late. The brat was usually in the kitchen two or three deep in Twinkies when Brian caught up with him. Justin just snickered again and leaned over to cue the next video – which was called 7 Labor Myths. Well that sounded fun; and what was it about this site and their numbered lists?

And then Justin leaned back, prodding at Brian's legs until he shifted them enough to allow Justin to slide between them. Brian pulled him back against his chest, in a total non-cuddling way, and allowed Justin to use it as a back rest as he leaned over and promised. "I will find a way, Sunshine; just you wait and see."


	82. March 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I actually had this done hours ago, and then just before I hit save, the computer went down and I lost all my edits and changes and I had to redo it all. As a result, it's not as good as the first time in my opinion, but hopefully it's still fun. :)

**March 21**

Emmett looked leaned against the wall and looked at his phone for what felt like the hundredth time that afternoon, but likely was only the twelfth time, as he waited for Justin to get out of the bathroom. But it remained as silent as it had the last six times that he checked it; and he was getting a bit impatient as he wasn't sure just how much more time the boys needed to get things done and he was sort of running out chores.

When Brian called him last week, and tasked him with getting Justin out of the house, so that he, Drew, Carl and Ted could move the completed baby furniture from the stables to the nursery, Emmett thought it would be a snap. He'd had plenty of last minute things that he needed to pick up for the shower and Justin always loved doing that stuff and would be easy to distract.

So, he'd agreed and made plans to pick up Justin at around nine that morning, so they could go out to breakfast first - to rehash the latest gossip and fortify themselves - before their whirlwind morning of shopping. That had been six hours ago; a good _four_ hours past the time Brian had said that he'd contact him, and he was running out of things to do.

And if Mr. Kinney-Taylor didn't get back to him soon, all of his subterfuge will be for naught because Justin was not stupid; he'd see any delaying tactics that Emmett attempted for what they were and demand to be taken home whether the boys were done or not.

Emmett fanned himself, feeling the first signs of a nervous sweat breaking out across his neck and brow. He so didn't need this stress right now; he was already going to be up all night as it was, prepping everything for tomorrow's brunch, and he didn't have time to panic. Glancing at his phone again, he growled when it remained stubbornly silent and then shoved it in his pocket when he caught sight of a familiar mop of blond hair bobbing through the crowd. Big Bad was _so_ going to owe him for this.

"Sorry for the delay," Justin said, pushing his hair back from his face. "Surprisingly, there was a bit of line for the bathroom, and getting down and up is not as easy as it used to be these days. I swear, this kid is going to be the size of a beach ball with the rate I'm going. I'm suddenly happy that I'll be having a cesarean and I won't have to try pushing this monster out."

"No problem, Baby," Emmett said with a smile; rubbing his sweaty palms down the side of his pants and desperately tried to think of something to do. "I just played Angry Birds while I was waiting for you."

"You and that game," Justin laughed, grabbing a few of the bags sitting on a table that Emmett was standing near. "You're worse than Gus and his Super Mario Kart."

"No one is as bad as Gus when it comes to that game," Emmett huffed and gathered up the remaining bags. He led the way down the mall walkway, Justin following in his wake, and looked around for inspiration; and when he found nothing, the sweat on his back pooled. What on God's green Earth were they doing out there that they couldn't pick up a fucking phone and message?

He lingered as long as he dared, occasionally looking into windows, and chatting with a, thankfully, oblivious Justin and was just about to concede defeat when Justin looked down at his phone and smiled. He waved it and then walked away to answer it. Emmett looked at his phone again, hoping for a message, and then nearly scream in frustration to find that Brian still hadn't messaged him back.

Emmett looked over at Justin, who was animatedly talking to whoever was on the other side of the line, his smile bright as the sun. Good, this gave him the chance to send _yet another_ message to Brian, asking him what the hell was taking so long; _and_ warning him that Emmett was running out ways to distract a certain curious blond. He quickly typed it in, looked it over and then sent it just as Justin came bouncing back his way.

"So, hey," Justin said, looking at him nervously. "I know that you probably have like a ton of stuff to do for the shower tomorrow; but I just got a call from the jeweler that was handling a special order for me. He just finished it and it's ready for pick up. So, I was wondering if you might have the time to take me there; as well as perhaps go to Infusion, that new men's specialty store reminiscent of MiN's New York, with me?"

 _Jesus, Mary and Joseph! Thank the Lord and Hallelujah! He was saved_!

Emmett internally sighed with relief and sent a mental thanks to whatever fairy godmother was looking out for him today; because this was _exactly_ what he needed since the good God Taylor-Kinney was still being worryingly silent. But that was neither here nor there; he had a blond to distract and this couldn't have come at a better time.

"Sure thing, Baby," Emmett said, still quivering with relief. "I think I have everything we need for tomorrow and I don't need to meet up with Darren for another hour or two. So, we can go wherever you need to be. Plus, I've been meaning to get my ass over to Infusion to pick up some more face cream."

And maybe then he could also find a mask or two that would help him get rid of all the toxins building up in his body due to his momentary panic. He'd just add it to Big Bad's bill for the shower as he _so_ owed Emmett for this. He should've been in his kitchen and prepping for two hours by now; and the only reason he wasn't having a complete meltdown was that Darren and his sister had been kind enough to start the prep for him.

"So, where do we need to go?" Emmett asked, opening the door and holding it for Justin; who smiled brightly and walked out the door. Emmett followed him, expertly guiding him towards the Humvee that Drew insisted on buying for him despite it's impracticality.

"I need to go to Black Diamond Jewelers for my special order," Justin said as he came to a halt next to the Humvee, waiting for Emmett to open the back, so he could put his bags in. "But that is on the way to Britin, so I thought we'd hit Infusion first if that's okay with you?"

"Fine by me, Baby," Emmett said breezily; he loaded the rest of the bags in the back and closed the hated, swiftly rounding the car and unlocking the passenger door for Justin. He helped his friend up into it and shut the door before he rounded the truck and climbed into the other side with a wide, careless smile. "You know me; I have no problem shopping for things to make me even more beautiful than I already am."

Justin laughed as Emmett preened and started the Humvee; he looked both ways and then carefully pulled out of the parking space and slowly navigated his way out of the mall parking lot, setting a course for Infusion; which, thankfully, was only down the street a couple of miles, so they didn't have far too go.

"So why do you need to go to Infusion?" Emmett asked, flipping on his blinker so that he could change lanes. "Need to replenish Big Bad's beauty aids?"

"Sort of?" Justin hedged, and then explained further when Emmett raised his eyebrows. "I'm putting together a gift basket for Brian to go with the other Daddy Gift that I ordered for him. I figured that everyone always focuses on the carrier and the baby at the baby shower, and they often forget about the daddy. And God knows that Brian has been surprisingly patient with all of my queen outs, and the emotional ups and downs, and the weird cravings in the middle of the night. I just wanted to do something nice for him to show my appreciation."

"Oh, that is so sweet, Baby!" Emmett gushed, a little mad that he hadn't thought of it himself; but he was definitely going to steal the idea for future use. "Big Bad will love it; even if he won't admit it at the time."

"He's…he's just been taking such good care of me lately," Justin said, a small smile on his face. "And I know that he has been horribly stressed between the baby, and work, and this stalker business that I wanted to return the favor and pamper him for once."

"So, what are you getting?" Emmett asked, squirming happily in his seat; he so loved the way that his Baby and Big Bad took care of each other. It had taken them so long to get to this point; and it did his heart good, and made him believe in the power of love, to see how settled and happy they were these days.

"Well first, I'm planning to get him a new [wet shaving kit](https://imgur.com/ffVtUvz)," Justin said, ticking it off on his finger. "He's had his since college; and while he typically uses the electric shaver on the way to work for convenience, he prefers to do a wet shave when he has time. His brush needs replacing and, of course, I also need to get all the usual accoutrements."

"But, of course," Emmett said, affecting a haughty voice, and then snickering when Justin turned to him with a grin. "I never got into the wet shave thing; it always took far too much time for me."

"Me neither," Justin said, scrunching his nose up. "Not that it mattered for a long time; it's only recently that I've managed to grow enough facial hair that it doesn't look like a patchy mess. Although, I do have to admit that I kind of miss the days where I didn't have to shave every morning."

"You and me both," Emmett said as he pulled into the parking lot for Infusions, and then began the arduous task of finding parking. "You and me both, Baby."

"I also want to get his favorite shampoos, conditioners, cleansers, moisturizers, oils, and all that, and make up a [care basket](https://imgur.com/bKHuaMr) for him; to which I'll add a certificate for a full-day of pampering at that day spa he loves so much."

"Oh, that is so awesome, Baby," Emmett said as he slid into a parking space; he straightened out the Humvee, parked and turned off the car. "Although you should have added one for yourself in that mix."

"Nah," Justin shook his head and opened the door, carefully getting out of the Humvee. "I figure that while he's off doing his thing, you, Blake and the girls and moms can come over and we'll have our own mini-spa day and mocktail party at the house; since that particular spa doesn't really do prenatal massage."

"Oh, that will be so much fun!" Emmett squealed as he linked their arms together. "We can send Drew with him or something; and maybe Teddy, since I know he'd appreciate some papering due to all those late nights with Luc. Oh, I can't wait; I have so many ideas!"

"Well, don't get too carried away," Justin laughed as they crossed the parking lot and entered the store. "Do remember that my mobility is impacted these days. I can't be doing anything to strenuous."

"Not to worry, Baby," Emmett said, waving off Justin's concerns. "I know just the thing. Now, let's get our shop on so we can get out of here and get to your jewelers. I'm very curious as to what you have planned for Big Bad."

**… … … … …**

When Emmett finally pulled up in front of Britin, he was a different man than the one that set out that day, and he was glad to see it; he was beyond exhausted and just ready to hole himself up in his kitchen for a few hours and lose himself in mindless work, safely away from blond terrors.

Seriously, prepping for a baby shower with nearly fifty guests was a hell of a lot easier than dealing with a pregnant Justin on some days. How Big Bad did it, he had no idea; but he had Emmett's undying admiration, because if the minor little mood swing Emmett had been privy to had been any indication of what he put up with on daily basis, he would fully support Brian's candidacy for sainthood.

Christ, he had not felt this shaken in a long time; and the next time Big Bad needed a way to distract the little blond demon, he could call on someone else.

Shaking his head, Emmett watched in morbid fascination as a, now, happily humming Justin climbed out of the car, one of his forbidden treats in his mouth, and rounded it to get his purchases out of the back. How someone could change moods so fast, going from one extreme to the other, was beyond him; and his head was still spinning as he thought back to their minor tiff.

Everything had started out well; once they'd gotten into Infusion, Justin knew exactly what he was looking for, and where to find it, and he didn't waste any time getting to it. He'd found a really nice wet shave kit, along with Brian's favorite Taylor of Bond Street Shaving Cream, the Suzanne Kauffman After Shave Balm and placed it all into a stainless steel shaving bowl that he was planning to use as a basket. It made for a nice set, even if it was more money than Emmett would ever considering paying. But it was for Brian, so what did you expect?

He then quickly gathered up all of Brian's favorite grooming accoutrements, which he'd apparently had a wicker basket for at home, and set them onto the counter as well; he paid, got in, got out, no muss, no fuss. It was actually _Emmett_ that took a while as he was trying to decide between his regular face cream and a new one.

But Baby was perfectly happy to wait; he'd happily played a game as he waited for Emmett to make his decision, and then once Emmett had paid for his things, they left within thirty minutes of their arrival. At no point did he seem irritated, and in fact, the entire twenty minute drive to Black Diamond Jewelers they'd laughed and chatted and sang along with the radio. Emmett hadn't thought a thing of it.

Once they'd reached the jewelers, it was the same as Infusion; Baby went in and talked to the jeweler there about his special order and seemed thrilled with the results. And, oh, what a wonderful surprise it was going to be. Emmett gushed over it for several minutes, oh-ing and ah-ing over the details before it was wrapped up. Emmett couldn't wait to see Big Bad's face when he opened it; he had no doubts that he'd love it. But again, Justin just got on with his business, quickly paid for it, and happily walked out the door.

And that's when things got dicey.

Because when Justin walked out the door, and two things happened simultaneously – the first, his stomach grumbled, complaining that it hadn't been fed in about four hours; and the second, he caught scent of the treats from next door and it was game over. He immediately perked up, his eyes gleamed and he nearly bounced on the tips of his toes as he turned and found a little shop that specialized in all things deep-fried and bad for you, including his current weakness.

To say that he was thrilled would be an understatement of the year, given the way that he'd all but ran towards the combined deep-fried goodness and coffee shop - A Latte Fun - licking his lips and nearly drooling on his feet. And that was when things had gotten scary because Emmett had had the effrontery to curb his Baby's desire for Deep-Fried Twinkies and he will _never_ make that mistake again.

**... ... ... ... ...**

_Emmett watched with no little trepidation as Justin did an abrupt turn and scurried towards the shop of Emmett's impending doom. Because the one thing Big Bad had been firm on, was that Emmett was supposed to curb his Baby's penchant for eating junk food, especially if it came in the form of Twinkies. He bit his lip, and wondered if he should bother stopping Justin; because really, he was an adult and capable of making up his own mind. On the other hand, they **were** nearly at Britin, so surely Baby wouldn't mind waiting a few minutes to eat, right?_

_Wrong. Oh, how wrong he had been._

_"Uh, Baby," Emmett said, clearing his throat to get Justin's attention. "You know that…"_

_And that's when the scariest thing in Emmett's life happened; Justin paused, one foot in front of the other and slowly turned to look at Emmett. He narrowed his gaze and twitched, the near fanatical gleam in his eyes sending an icy chill tripping down Emmett's back. Emmett shuddered, his trepidation growing as Justin simply stared at him, completely silent and not even blinking, the hackles on the back of his neck raised. And then when he did speak, his voice was like silk over steel and it held a calm chill that had Emmett backing away slowly and wanting to run before the feral thing that used to be his friend unleashed its wrath._

_"Emmett," Justin said softly; and honestly, that scared the shit out of Emmett more than if he'd yelled it. Emmett swallowed harshly and nodded, unable to speak. "The next words out of your mouth better not be that Brian won't allow it." Justin paused to raise an eyebrow; Emmett wisely kept his mouth shut. "Because if it is; while I love you, and you're one of my dearest friends, we will have issues."_

_Emmett smiled weakly and shook his head; again, not wanting to say anything that might inadvertantly provoke the feral beast that was Justin's ravening hunger. He liked living far too much. Justin arched a brow and stood there staring at Emmett as if her were waiting for some sort of reaction; so, Emmett swallowed again and hazarded an answer.  
_

_"Not at all, Baby," Emmett hastily agreed, quickly disavowing any and all attempts to keep his Baby away from the snack cakes of doom; fuck that. Big Bad might make him nervous, but Justin in a Twinkie haze was fucking terrifying. "I was just going to suggest that maybe some milk or tea would be a good compliment to that."_

_"I'm happy that was the case, Em," Justin said, keeping one gimlet eye on him for a moment, and then he smiled, bright and happy again. "Now Twinkies!"_

**... ... ... ... ...**

"Hey, are you coming inside?" Justin asked as he popped back over to the driver's side door, startling Emmett out of his thoughts. Emmett just stared at Justin for a long moment, still marveling at the complete one-eighty in his mood swing. And then he shook his head to clear it and smiled when Justin frowned with concern and asked. "Or do you need to run off to help Darren?"

"I'll come in for a few minutes,"' Emmett said as he opened the car door and stepped out of the Humvee. "I think Drew said something about coming over here to keep Brian company since I was going to be gone all day; I want to check in with him before I run off to finish the prep for tomorrow."

"Awesome!" Justin smiled and then turned on his heel to walk into the house with Emmett following quickly on his heels. "You can distract Brian for me, so that I can get everything up the stairs and hide his stuff."

"Sure thing, Baby," Emmett said as he slowly followed Justin into the house; he paused in the entry way and looked around, and then hearing voices in the living room, he nodded to Justin. "You go ahead; I'll go in there and head them off for a few minutes."

"You're the best, Em," Justin said as he hugged Emmett and pressed a quick kiss against his cheek, and then ran off to hide his loot.

Emmett just stared after him, still having a hard time believing that swift change in his moods, and then he turned towards the living room with a grim smile. Big Bad was _so_ going to pay for this. He entered the room, located the man of the hour and made a beeline towards him, completely ignoring his husband.

"So, what took you guys so long?" he hissed, running a hand through his hair; Brian looked up and stared at him blandly, a drink at his lips. "I nearly ran out of ways to distract him; you were only supposed to be moving _three_ pieces of furniture. It shouldn't have taken more than an hour or two!"

Brian snorted and tossed back his drink, the grimace on his face drawing snickers from both Carl and Drew, who were sitting on the couch across from his chair. Brian set the tumbler down and poured himself another drink. Emmett looked between the three of them and frowned, noting that all looked exhausted and worse for wear, with patches of dirt and saw dust smeared on clothing and skin. Something completely unlike Brian.

"Yeah, well," Brian scoffed, looking more than a little tired and ruffled himself. "Tell that to Mother Taylor and Mama Novotny; I ended up moving the fucking furniture around _five_ times before they were satisfied with the placement. And _then_ , they bitched about it looking far too bare with nothing but the furniture in the room, so they decided to go through things, pulled out all the sheets and blankets and shit that Justin had bought and added that to the room. And _then_ , when apparently that wasn't enough, they decided to pick up some fucking toys at the toy shop not far from here to add to it. And _then_ , fucking Deb just _had_ to run back home, twenty minutes each fucking way, and grab the books that she she'd stored in the attic from when Michael was a kid and add _them_ to the shelves… and by the time they were done, I was ready to kill them."

Emmett stared at Brian, completely nonplussed by his rant. He opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, trying to think of something to say, but couldn't think of a damned thing. So he closed his mouth and just stared at the three of them for a long moment; as, honestly, it had been years since he'd heard Brian go off like that; and he hadn't expected it. But then again, what had he expected when he invited two domineering, expectant grandmothers to help? That is, if he'd had invited them in the first place; it was possible that they'd heard that Carl was coming over and had invited themselves along.

"Poor Big Bad," Emmett teased, snickering when Brian glared at him, and then flipped him off for good measure. Emmett snickered "Helpless in the wake of two overbearing grandmothers-to-be…"

Brian growled and once again slammed his drink and then poured himself another; he swirled the liquid around in his glass, still brooding over his thankless afternoon.

"And do you want to know what the worst part of all of this is?" Brian huffed, taking a long swig of his drink before setting it aside; likely because Justin would be pissed if he got drunk.

"What's that?" Emmett asked, a slightly amused smirk on his face.

"I know damned well that my artistic little twat is going to take one look at it, get pissed that they made up _his_ nursery without him and make me move all that shit around again," Brian pinched the bridge of his nose as if trying to stave off a headache. And yeah, Emmett could see how that would annoy the other man.

"Oh, yeah," Emmett winced as he thought about Baby's reaction; that wasn't going to be pretty. And after this afternoon's little mood swing, he planned to be on the opposite side of the property when he found out. "I can't imagine Baby being all that happy with them playing in his play pen; he's going to be pissed."

"Yup," Big Bad sighed, leaning his head against the back of his chair. "And when he blows, I'm just going to point my finger at them and run in the opposite direction; because like hell am I taking the heat for this."

"Yeah, good luck with that; I'm sure they'll all find a way to make your fault somehow," Emmett snorted, and then frowned. "By the way, the next time you need a distraction for your little blond demon, do my sanity a favor and call Blake. At least, until he is no longer a walking time-bomb. I don't think I can handle his mood swings again."

Brian lifted his head and frowned; he studied Emmett's face for along time, trying to parse out what had made Emmett so tense; and then, when he couldn't figure it out, he sighed. "What happened?"

"He was hungry," Emmett huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. Brian arched a brow. "And I nearly stood in the way of what he coveted most."

Emmett squirmed as Brian cocked his head stared at Emmett for a long moment, a confused look on his face. Emmett deliberately didn't meet his gaze, his cheeks flushing hotter and hotter as Brian continued to look at him, his mind going a mile a minute until suddenly he threw his head back and laughed once he figured it out.

"Let me guess," Brian snickered, his eyes bright with laughter; making Emmett huff and kick his foot out, but he missed when Brian dodged it. "A certain someone had another Twinkie Emergency."

"You laugh now, but it was traumatizing at the time; you could have warned me that he was going to go all Regan McNeil on me," Emmett complained, smacking Brian on the arm when he just continued to laugh at Emmett's pain, drawing the others in with him. "Seriously, for a moment there I thought he was going to sacrifice me to his Twinkie Gods if I didn't get the fuck out of his way."

Brian just continued to laugh; guffawing and snorting as Drew and Carl joined him. Emmett huffed again and decided he'd had enough; even if he could see the humor in it now, at the time he had been really worried that Justin was going to lose it on him. And that was a side that had never been directed at him.

"Well," Brian turned back to Emmett and smirked, finally having gotten his laughter under control, his eyes filled with humor. "Why should I have all the fun?"

"You are evil," Emmett declared, much to the insufferable asses amusement; he shook his head and walked towards the door, Brian's laughter once again following him. "I'm leaving now; the brat is your problem now."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now to a bit bad news; as of April, I will be switching from daily updates to doing it every other day instead. As I have gotten into the meat of the story, the chapters have gotten significantly bigger despite my trying to rein them in. Writing 2000 words a day is typical for me and not a hardship at all. But now that they are creeping up to between 4000 to even 6000 words, I just can't do it. I'm spending all my time on this story and neglecting others. It also has resulted in me not getting the updates up until the wee hours of the morning. So, sorry guys, but this is just the way it has to be for now.


	83. March 22 (Part One)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, you'll notice there are a lot of links in this one; sorry about that. I just couldn't resist grabbing pictures when I was looking for all those good things to eat. It's the foodie in me; I have a culinary arts degree, so food is an important part of my life. :) Hopefully you'll enjoy the pics as well.

**March 22 (Part One)**

Justin smothered a yawn and scrubbed a hand through his hair as he watched Emmett's team scurry around, putting the last minute touches to the banquet tables. The smells wafting out of his kitchen were making him salivate; and his stomach gurgled unhappily knowing that there would be no relief for another hour or so when everyone got there. He was tempted to sneak in and just grab an apple or some fruit to tide him over, but he'd already attempted to enter his kitchen half-a-dozen times, only to be kicked out by a frazzled Emmett, who muttered under his breath about interfering brats.

Something that greatly offended Justin.

He hadn't even planned to touch the food that they were putting together; he'd just wanted to grab some coffee and maybe a banana. But with the way Emmett had acted, you would have thought that Justin was in there, standing over the trays and stuffing his face. He _knew_ he shouldn't have threatened Em yesterday as he'd known that Em could hold a grudge; but it had been _Twinkies_ and he'd been _interfering_ , and that was _so_ not on. Justin had gotten enough interference from Brian; he wasn't going to put up with his friends doing it too.

Justin shifted in his seat, his eyes following yet another covered tray of food as one of Emmett's helpers walked past him; and his stomach rumbled again as he caught the scent of what he thought was [lamb](https://imgur.com/b5St6Ry) as he went past. That was so _not_ fair. How exactly did Emmett expect Justin to resist pilfering one of his favorite sliders when he wouldn't even let him into the kitchen to get something to eat?

He looked at his watch again and frowned when he'd noticed that only five minutes had passed. Groaning, Justin huffed and slumped back into his chair, watching as [tray](https://imgur.com/1Mp9Svm) after [tray](https://imgur.com/kKNOF1H) of [tea sandwiches](https://imgur.com/bCVO2pI) followed the guy with the lamb sliders. And then those were followed by several bowls of salad – [a pesto pasta](https://imgur.com/b7zNNs3), [a Yukon gold potato salad](https://imgur.com/qYuZbKp), and a mixed greens salad with a variety of dressings – and a platter of [rainbow fruit skewers](https://imgur.com/HpBxwzs) that just had to be Deb's idea.

God knows that only she could have talked Emmett into it after Brian had taken one look at Emmett's preliminary plans and had promptly put his foot down. He'd told both Deb and Emmett that if he saw any of that rainbow shit in _his_ house, that he would personally see to it that they'd never receive another invitation back to Britin; _and_ that he'd take all of his business to Designer Diner, Emmett's bitter rival, from that point on.

Emmett hadn't been all that happy when he'd heard that, and likely the skewers were his way of thumbing his nose at Brian without getting him too angry.

Justin licked his lips, each new offering looking more tempting than the last; especially when they started to set up [the soup](https://imgur.com/HR4UQc0) and [bagel bars](https://imgur.com/jLqZo7V). And really, he was beginning to think that Emmett was purposefully doing this just to be an asshole. It was getting to the point where even the smoked salmon platter looked good, and he didn't even like smoked salmon all that much, even if he _could_ eat it.

Scrubbing his hand over his face, Justin looked away, desperately trying to ignore all the enticing smells as the [short-rib with apple slaw sliders](https://imgur.com/CZKVB4d) and the [Portobello sliders](https://imgur.com/NSGt0fT) went by; followed by the [French-toast kabobs](https://imgur.com/qGNWeJq) and the [mini-quiche](https://imgur.com/pN1htQY). But it wasn't until they started setting up the [sweets bar](https://imgur.com/KUXJLvS) with the [chocolate covered strawberries](https://imgur.com/ftZFmZT), the [lemon meringue parfaits](https://imgur.com/LKuXDGg), the [lemon cheesecake pies](https://imgur.com/VHODRYJ) and other sweets that Justin nearly cracked and said the hell with it; he was _this close_ to grabbing something to eat even if it meant incurring Emmett's wrath. There was no way in hell that he could wait.

"Here," a familiar voice said as a plate of food was jammed into his hand.

Justin looked down, salivating when he noted a [salmon cake slider](https://imgur.com/8YWfPrR), a cup of tomato bisque, some [roasted veggies](https://imgur.com/nXm9mV5) and a small mound of fruit on it. Justin grinned and looked up to meet Brian's exasperated gaze.

"Emmett said to eat that and stop acting like a kicked puppy," Brian huffed, shaking his head when Justin bent his head to do just that; but he was immediately halted when Brian took his arm, holding him back. "He couldn't take the sad eyes and drooling anymore. Now lets go; after you eat that, I have a much better way for you to spend your time rather than just sitting there and strategizing your plan of attack. Let the other people eat first, Sunshine."

Justin looked at his food, and then looked up at his husband; and then he looked down at his food again and shrugged. He handed the plate to Brian and got up, happily following him up to their room. Yummy food? Check. Sexy times with a gorgeous man? Double check. It was the perfect way to start his morning.

**… … … … …**

Justin covered his eyes and wanted to sink into the floor while the rest of the table laughed at him; what was it about mothers and their need to embarrass the fuck out of their children at every opportunity? And his morning had started out so well too.

After he'd eaten all of his yummy goodies, Brian had dragged him into the bathroom, where they'd taken a long shower together; taking the time stroke and thouch and soap each other up before ending with a fantastic blow job that had blown Justin's mind; one that Brian had said that he could reciprocate later as Emmett chose at that exact moment to pound on their door and tell them that their guests were arriving. And then he'd spent the next thirty minutes greeting everyone, and then pointing them towards the 'guest book,' telling them to grab their commemorative _[#Team Sunbeam](https://imgur.com/4mbhZjN)_[ t-shirts](https://imgur.com/4mbhZjN) and a rubber ducky out of the trays for their door prize.

It had then been followed by light small talk while they waited a few additional minutes for any stragglers before Emmett _finally_ opened up the buffet. And then he was able to grab even more yummy food; and he even got to go first because he was the guest of honor, _so, ha! Take that, Brian_! He wasn't feeling smug at all when he scurried over to the tables and loaded his plate to the hilt; and then briefly considered grabbing a second plate when Brian had rolled his eyes and dragged his ass over to the front table, where he had his own seat of honor.

And that's when his morning went to shit.

Because also sitting at his table was his mother, Tucker, Deb, Carl, Lucille and Leo. And as this was the first time that his mother had been able to spend any appreciable time with Lucille, _and_ she'd been knocking back mimosas like they were going out of style, the child torture began; also known as, "Let's Embarrass Justin by Telling Everyone About the Time That He Did *Insert Embarrassing Kid Moment Here.*"

It didn't help that Deb, Lucille and, not all that surprisingly, his traitorous husband were egging her on and trying to wrangle even more stories out of her about Justin's precocious childhood. And while he may not be able to do anything about his mother, Deb or Lucille, Brian was _so_ going to pay for this later.

Huffing, Justin decided to focus on his food, blatantly ignoring his snickering husband, as his mother's next story started.

"And then, there was the time that he broke his arm," his mother giggled, taking another sip of her mimosa; yes, _giggled_. His mother. Giggled. Jesus Fucking Christ, how many of those fucking things had she drunk? She was so getting cut off after this one.

"Mom," Justin huffed, trying to cut her off before she could begin this one, because like hell did he want the entire party to know; he'd never live it down. "No one wants to know any of this stuff."

"Yes we do!" a voice called out; Justin snapped his head towards the voice, but couldn't figure out which asshole had said it. But he'd figure it out eventually.

"Oh, hush, Justin," his mother said, dismissing him with a careless wave of her hand; one that nearly tipped over her glass if Tucker hadn't reached out and saved it. "Brian _needs_ to know these things, so that he'll know what he's getting himself into with your genes involved."

"Yes," Brian smirked, snickering again when Justin glared at him. Asshole. "I _need_ to know these things."

"So, anyways, he was about four years old?" his mother said, cocking her head to the side to think about it. Justin just went back to his brunch and tried to ignore the growing mirth around him. "I think it was four, but he could have been five at the time. And he had been playing on the jungle gym at the park when he'd fallen and broken his arm."

Justin cringed as his mother paused to sip her drink; God, he hated this story. He hated it just as much as she loved telling it. He could never get away from it; or any of the others that were sure to follow because she now held a captive audience.

"So, I run over there, scared shitless," his mother continued, shaking her head at the memory. "And I'm expecting him to be crying and upset; but other than whimpering a little, he was a little trooper. So, we leave and get to the hospital, where he was examined without much fuss; he was actually doing quite well _until_ it came time to put the cast on his arm. He watched, frowning the entire time, as the doctor wrapped him up. And then, when he was done, Justin looked at it, and then looked at us quite pissed off and said, ' _now, how am I supposed to suck my thumb_!' And the doctor just looked at him, completely flabbergasted for a moment before he broke down laughing. And then he gave Justin a sucker and all was well."

Justin groaned, hissing when Brian threw his head back and laughed, clutching at his stomach. Asshole. He hadn't even wanted to be at the shower in the first place; it had taken all of Justin's wiles to get him to even consider staying for brunch, including promising him all matter of sexy things in return for his cooperation, and this was the thanks Justin gets? He could so forget about all of it now.

"Oh, my god," Deb laughed, wiping tears of mirth from her eyes. "That is priceless. God, I wish I had even half the stories about Michael that you do about Justin; but he was always a quiet child. He preferred to stay in his room, reading his comics; at least, until this one got his hands on him." Deb nodded at Brian, who just smirked. "Do, tell us more, because wow, Sunshine, you were quite the ham."

"I do try," Justin smirked, and then took a huge bite of his lamb slider, knowing that, since there was no stopping this train wreck now, he might was well just own it.

"Well, there _was_ this one time, when he was about three-years-old," his mother said, and Justin groaned because he was pretty sure that he knew where this was going. Fuck his life. "And we were at the mall, standing in line, waiting to see Santa." Yup, this was going _exactly_ where Justin thought it was going. "And Craig was handing him pieces of popcorn one at a time as a snack; and I don't know what happened, but Craig must have gotten distracted, or he just wasn't handing them over fast enough; because all of a sudden, Justin frowned and stomped his foot. And then he yelled at the top of his lungs, ' ** _MORE COCKPORN, DADDY_** _!_ ' And I just about died; Craig was so mortified, he didn't know what to do."

"Oh, my God," Justin whined, laying his head on the table as everyone within earshot doubled-over, practically crying with laughter. He was so done with this. "That's it; you are cut off! No more mimosas for you!"

"That right there should have tipped them off a long time ago that you weren't straight, Sunshine," Brian snickered as leaned down to whisper it against his ear. Justin huffed with annoyance and elbowed him in the side, sending him into another fit of laughter.

He was so going to get it when everyone went home.

"Well, that was amusing; but before you begin another story, Mother Taylor," Emmett said, standing up by his chair. "Can, I get everyone's attention please." Emmett paused while everyone quieted down. "First of all, the parents-to-be want to thank you for coming and hope that you are enjoying brunch." He paused again for the cheers that went up. "Now, when you first arrived, you were instructed to pick up a rubber ducky from one of the trays by the door. At this time, I'd like you to grab them, flip them over and see if there is a sun sticker on the bottom of it."

Justin watched as, one by one, the guests found and flipped their ducks over, and then grinned when Jenny let out an excited squeal. She bounced up out of her seat, ran over to Emmett and held it out to him so that he could check it.

"That's the one!" Emmett said, handing it back to her. "You, young lady have won our door prize. Here, you can have that back, and if you'll go right over there, you can choose one of the prizes and take it back to your table."

Justin smiled as Jenny grabbed the duck; and then she bounced over to Justin and hugged and kissed him on the cheek, squealing a ' _thank you_ ' as if he'd actually had anything to do with it. She then ran over to the table and almost immediately grabbed the large [smiley mug that was filled with various candies](https://imgur.com/VPFC3ds); not much of a surprise given her sweet tooth. Although, she did briefly hover over one of the other prizes before grabbing the candy.

"Okay, folks," Emmett continued, smirking at Justin. "We'll take the next thirty minutes or so to finish up brunch – don't worry, there will be food available throughout the party – and then we have some games for us to play. But, until then, I'll hand it back over to Jen for our continued brunch entertainment."

Justin scowled at Emmett, who just smirked at him and sat back down next to Drew; he narrowed his eyes, knowing in that moment that Emmett was definitely trying to get him back for yesterday. He pointed at his friend, and the dragged his finger over his neck in a slicing gesture, letting him know he was in deep shit when this was over; especially when his mother started up again with barely a hitch in her stride.

**… … … … …**

Justin sat back in his 'throne' as Emmett had dubbed it, likely trying to make up for letting his mother get drunk and tell stories about Justin; and laughed as he watched the current game. He had been participating in most of the games, but as this one was a relay race, he'd had to sit this one out as it was much too difficult for him to run these days.

The object of the game was to do a short dash from the starter line to a table that contained a baby doll wearing a diaper and wrapped in a receiving blanket. Once you were there, you needed to unwrap the baby, take off its diaper, wipe its butt with the provided baby wipes, put on a fresh diaper and then rewrap the doll in the blanket. Then the person had to dash back, tag the next person in line, and it started all over again.

Usually, the game called for two teams, but since there were so many people at his shower, Justin had ended up buying seven dolls instead of the two listed. He also had to put a cap of thirty-five participants as he'd needed to know just how many prizes he needed to buy for the winning team. And when he told them that, well... he wouldn't have been surprised that Brian, and the others who had ran into the media room at the mere mention of games, could have heard it over whatever sport or movie they were watching.

But he'd held firm and first asked for people to step out of the running. And thankfully a few had willingly done so; but not nearly enough to make the thirty-five person cap. So then, he dumped thirty-five pacifiers into a wading pool and let them have at it. That had been pretty funny as well; thankfully, he'd had the presence of mind to have towels on hand and gave them their commemorative shirt before brunch.

And then, once they'd had the contenders, he'd let them choose their own teams of seven as he really didn't want to listen to anymore bitching. A wise idea as it turned out because they, (mostly Lindsay), had just ended up squabbling over _that_ as well, making both Justin and Emmett roll their eyes in exasperation and tell them to either find a team or let someone else play.

From there, it had been a hysterical comedy of errors with people cursing up a storm as they stumbled during their short-distance run to table, only to fumble with the baby and send the wipes and diapers flying everywhere and then stumble their way back, all the while trying to best and sabotage the other teams and…well, he hadn't laughed so hard in forever. And the more that they fumbled; the more determined they were to win.

It had gotten to the point that Deb, the last one in the Luscious Ladies, as Lucille had dubbed them, was clenching her hands into fists, gritting her teeth and glaring at the other teams, trying to intimidate them as she waited for Justin's mom to finish and run back to tag her in, since they were currently in the lead by one person.

Shaking his head, Justin snorted his mom got back to the starting line and had barely touched Deb's hand before Mama Novotny was barreling towards the table and her current victim. Justin winced as she grabbed the baby doll and yanked the blanket off of it, tossing it to the side; and then she ripped the diaper off without any finesse whatsoever. She tossed the diaper over her shoulder and then fumbled with the doll, batting it back and forth in her hands as she tried get a grip on the slippery plastic.

"You're supposed to diaper it, Deb," Lucille yelled unhelpfully, making the gathered crowd snicker. "Not drop it."

"I'm trying; I'm trying," Deb huffed, finally getting a grip on the doll and slamming it onto the table; she grabbed a diaper and made quick work of it as she glanced at the others, cursing when she realized that the table two from the left of her had caught up and they were now nearly neck in neck. "But the little fucker is slippery after all those wiping downs."

"I do hope that you didn't do that to Michael when he was a baby," Lucille drawled, incurring yet more laughter from those surrounding her.

"Because if you did," Yasmeen muttered quietly from Justin's side, where she'd sat down after bowing out due to a back injury. "Things suddenly make a whole lotta sense."

"I'd always just assumed that it was all the times that his mother's smacked him upside the head," Cynthia said, smirking when Justin choked on his [punch](https://imgur.com/bScJLzb). "It can't be healthy or safe to get beaten upside the head like that on a daily basis."

"You do make an excellent point," Yasmeen nodded, grimacing when Deb let out another string of expletives as she accidentally tore the tape strip from the diaper in her haste, and had to grab a second one and try again. "His lack of basic comprehension skills would hint at potential brain trauma."

Justin smothered a laugh in his hand, in complete agreement with the women on either side of him, yet not wanting to incur Deb's wrath if she'd overheard that comment. But Deb either wasn't listening, or she had decided to ignore it in her bid for victory. She focused on the new diaper with a ferocious intensity, quickly securing the tape and then expertly wrapping the baby up.

"There! Gotcha, you little bastard," Deb crowed; she set the baby doll down, spun on her heel and made the mad dash back to the start line, her team cheering her on the whole way; and as she reached it, she tagged the first person in line, just beating out the other team by a couple of seconds.

"Please, tell me that she doesn't talk to the kids that way," Yasmeen pleaded, looking to Justin for a reassurance that he couldn't give; he just shook his head as his mom and her team all hugged and congratulated one another.

"She does," Justin said, snickering at Yasmeen's pained expression. "Little shit and fucker are her favorite endearments after asshole."

"No wonder her kid's so screwed up," Yasmeen huffed, shaking her head at Deb; and then Justin felt bad as he'd been mostly joking when he'd said that.

"To be fair," Justin said, suppressing yet another yawn; fuck, he was already tired and he hadn't even done all that much other than sit around. "She doesn't say that to Gus or Jenny. And I doubt that she said anything like that to Michael until he was a teenager and well…"

"Well, he deserved it at that point," Yasmeen snorted, standing up and walking away to get another drink.

Shaking his head, Justin stood as well and stretched, getting ready for the next phase of the party as this was the last of the planned games – unwrapping the presents. Which he couldn't wait to do; he was so done with these all of these games, even if this last one had been a blast. Dropping his arms he crossed the yard and stood next Emmett so they could give out the prizes.

"Can get everyone to come over here and sit down, please," Emmett called out, waving his hand toward the mingling women, and pointing to the tables. "We'd like to hand out the game prizes that way Baby can start opening that massive pile of loot over there."

Everyone laughed and quickly took a seat, leaving only Justin and Emmett standing. Emmett grabbed the last five prizes and put them on the table next to him; and then he grabbed the stack of papers that he'd been going through while they'd played the Diaper Relay and three games of Baby Bingo.

"Before I announce the winners of the Baby Photo Game and the [Diaper Cake](https://imgur.com/EHjM7pL) Game, are there any more outstanding entries?" Emmett asked, looking around at those gathered; and when no one stepped forward he nodded and turned back to his papers. "Good, so let's get on with this then; for the Baby Photo Game, the winner is…Caryn! Come on up here and select a prize."

Justin smiled and clapped as one of his favorite artists from Kinnetik came up; he hugged her and then stood back, grinning when she didn't even hesitate to pick up the [gift basket](https://imgur.com/eg8Yiem) that had assorted teas and a personal teapot in it. As long as he could remember, he'd always seen her sucking down some sort of tea that her brother had sent her from his various travels around the world.

"Caryn managed to get all but two of our guests right," Emmett said; and Justin wasn't all that surprised as she had always had an eye for detail. "And I don't blame her for mixing those two up as our Miss Molly _is_ the spitting image of her mother. Now onto the Diaper Cake; the prize for the most accurate guess goes to Todd, who guessed that there were 105 diapers in the cake. There were actually 102."

Todd grinned and walked up to the table. He took a bit longer to decide, but eventually went with the [coffee lover's basket](https://imgur.com/ErXcVbz) that Justin had had to pry out Brian's hands this morning. It hadn't mattered to Brian that they'd already had all of the same things in their own kitchen; he'd wanted it and it had finally taken Justin promising to give him a blow job later that night before he'd relinquish the basket. Todd scooped up his prize and went to sit down.

"Now onto Baby Bingo," Emmett said, looking at his papers. "For the first winner, we have Kellie. If you'll come on up and pick your prize." Kellie came up, waved at Justin and then picked one of the [spa baskets](https://imgur.com/w67S217), the one that had all natural products. "And then we have Miss Molly, please come on up and get your prize." Molly chose the [mani-pedi basket](https://imgur.com/0Op87nK). "And then finally we have Mr. Gus; is he still here or did he run back into the house?"

"He's back in the media room with his father," Mel said, blatantly ignoring Lindsay's frown. Justin looked between them, wondering if they were fighting again as Lindsay had been in a snit since she'd gotten here. "But I'm pretty sure I can guess which of the remaining gifts he'd prefer."

Everyone laughed as there were only two prizes left -  [a spa basket](https://imgur.com/RDykPpD) and [a candy cake](https://imgur.com/1mGUcOa); and it took absolutely no guesses at all to figure out which one a thirteen-year-old boy would prefer. Mel smirked and then got up to get Gus' prize, again ignoring Lindsay's huff. Justin was going to keep an eye on that.

"Well, Miss Mel," Emmett said with a knowing smirk. "You might as well snag them both since you are the winner of Don't Say Baby, Mum's the Word, as you well know. Let that be a lesson to you all – be careful what you say around a lawyer; they hear _everything_."

Mel laughed and did indeed grab both of the remaining prizes; she walked past Justin to go back to her seat, but he reached out and grabbed her arm to stop her as he knew that Emmett was going to announce the winners of the relay next; and since she'd been part of the winning team, she might as well stay there.

"And finally, the winners of our Diaper Relay," Emmett said, looking around at the confused faces as the table was now empty. "Now, I can tell by some of your faces that you're wondering what prize is left for our lovely winners since our table is empty. But not to worry; it's because I have them right here in my pocket." Em paused and pulled out a stack of gift cards from his shirt pocket. "For our winners, I have here a $50 gift certificate each to Täko in Downtown. So will our Luscious Ladies – Lucille, Deb, Jen, Kellie, Molly, Laurie and Melanie – please, step forward for your prize."

Justin smiled as Emmett handed him the cards to pass out and then walked off to go take care of his other duties; he turned to the first person, which was Kellie. He hugged her and handed her the card and made a mental note to find her to talk to her later. He then repeated the gesture with all the remaining women in the group, smirking as he heard them discussing a potential girls night out to use the cards since ' _why should their guys benefit from their hard work_?'

"So, now that this is over," Justin said, with a smile. "I do believe that Emmett is getting antsy and we should make our way over to the presents. Although, the layette design station is still open if you haven't had a chance to do one. There are plenty of blank layettes and fabric paints left, so please, feel free to decorate a layette for Sunbeam. I have a feeling I will need each, and every, one of them; and I will greatly appreciate them."

"And don't forget to fill out our Baby Bucket List," Emmett said, pointing to a little carriage that he'd decorated the other night. "There are little booklets there for you to use; write down the one thing that you think a new parent should do or document in the baby's first year. And don't just stick to the obvious things like their first tooth or step, but think of all the little things that are not as obvious. It will help our new parents fill out that baby book."

After that, the crowd parted, some walking over towards the sweets bar and the others gathering around the presents, giving Justin a chance to take a few minutes to unwind. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and began kneading his lower back in an effort to ease the tension that had built up there. Even with all the cushions and pillows piled on his 'throne,' sitting up for this long was getting to be a bit uncomfortable.

Sighing, Justin removed his hands, unable to get the right leverage to do much good, and he was just about to open his eyes and walk over to the present pile when familiar arms wrapped around him and strong hands began to massage his back.

"You doing okay, Sunshine?" Brian asked, pressing a kiss against Justin's temple; Justin sighed and melted against his husband, allowing him to take his weight as he continued to rub his lower back. "Is something wrong?"

"No," Justin said, tipping his head up to press a kiss against his husband's neck. "Just tired; and my back's a little stiff from sitting in that chair. I know that Emmett tried to make it as comfortable as possible, but sitting upright for so long is getting harder these days."

"Well, then," Brian said, pulling away and taking Justin's hand. "Let's go open these presents and then we can kick most of these people out of here and you can go into the house and take a nap. How's that?"

"Sounds peachy," Justin said and allowed himself to be led over to the table and his guests.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, since I've mentioned the Baby Basket List in this one; at this time I'd like to invite you to suggest baby firsts and moments to record for the story that comes after this. I was originally going to cover the first year in a similar fashion to this story, but I've revamped that. So this story will end a few days after Justin gives birth. And then the next story in this series will be called A Year of Firsts. And it's going to cover all those lovely baby firsts. So, think of some firsts - and like Emmett said, don't think of the obvious as I have those listed already - and then feel free to suggest them for the story.


	84. March 22 (Part Two)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally edited it to the best of my ability. If you see any mistakes or typos, feel free to point them out to me. Thanks!

**Mar. 22 – (Part Two)**

Brian sighed and watched as another guest entered; he smiled, greeted them, exchanged the same pithy platitudes that he'd been exchanging all fucking morning, and looked around a bit desperately as he plotted his escape. And not for the reasons that Justin would likely attribute to it; he knew better than to disappear until Brunch was over. His darling, _sweet-tempered_ husband had made it a point to explain in explicit detail what would happen to Brian's remaining ball if he even thought of it.

But he really did need to get upstairs and find that sketch before Brunch started; he knew it had to be in the bedroom somewhere as he'd seen Justin looking at it the other day. But every time he'd try to look for it this morning, someone or something would interrupt him; the last of whom had been Emmett telling Brian that if he didn't drag Justin away from the food and distract him, he would not be held responsible for what happened.

That had led to Brian giving up the search for the morning, traipsing down to the kitchen to pilfer a few things to tide the beast over, and then dragging Justin off to their bedroom. Because what better to distract the twat than a plate full of some of his favorite foods and sex? It was a fail safe solution; and if Emmett hadn't liked him pilfering his food, too fucking bad; he should have let Justin into the kitchen to get something to eat before he'd been driven to staking out the buffet in the hopes of sneaking something.

Shifting on his feet, Brian cast another impatient look at the door and nearly cried with relief when his salvation appeared in the form of a certain best friend that had could give Michael and Lindsay lessons in the art of manipulation. But, thankfully, Daphne at least used her powers of persuasion for good. Grinning when she all but bounced up to him, glowing in that way that pregnant women did, Brian immediately pulled her into a hug.

"Do me a favor?" Brian asked, casting a surreptitious glance Justin's way, and was happy to see that he was still chatting with Daphne's mother, Sandra.

"Sure," Daphne said in a low voice, frowning when she caught his look. "What's wrong?"

"I need you to distract Justin for a bit so I can go upstairs and grab something," Brian said, pulling her little bit away from Justin and Sandra. Daphne just arched a brow and waited for further information. Brian sighed. "I need to find his sketch of the nursery; that way, when all of you hens are playing your little games…ow!" Brian scowled, rubbing the arm Daphne viciously punched. "Fuck woman, I need that arm to move shit this afternoon."

"Move what stuff?" Daphne asked, watching Brian through narrowed eyes.

"As I was saying before you got abusive," Brian huffed, still rubbing his arm; that was likely going to leave a bruise. "While you _hens_ are playing your games, I'm going to drag the guys upstairs to help me finish the nursery."

"You haven't finished it?" Daphne hissed; Brian winced and looked over at Justin, worried that he'd noticed them by now. But again, some fairy godmother must have been watching over him, because Justin was caught up in a conversation with Emmett; likely discussing when to open the buffet. "I thought that's what you were doing yesterday?"

"It _was_ the plan for yesterday," Brian said, turning back to Daphne with a frown; Daphne smile sheepishly and mimed zipping her lips. "But someone couldn't keep his mouth shut, and for once it _wasn't_ Emmett; and I ran afoul of the mommy brigade."

"Oh," Daphne said, her lips twitching as she desperately tried to hold back her laughter. An attempt that had utterly failed when she started giggling helplessly; Brian glared at her as she unhelpfully added. "Well, that sucks."

"Your overwhelming sense of sympathy astounds me," Brian deadpanned; rolling his eyes when she just continued to laugh at his pain.

"Sorry," Daphne snickered, waving her hand in front of her face as she tried to contain her giggles. "I just remember when Jen was doing Molly's nursery; she had Craig and my dad moving the furniture every other weekend it seemed."

"So, you can guess how it went yesterday," Brian groused, looking over to see Justin chatting with his nemesis from yesterday; Mother Taylor looked over, smiled and waved at him and Daphne, which sent the brat into another fit of giggles.

"Fine," Daphne huffed, finally getting herself under control. "I'll distract your husband the best that I can." She paused and looked over at Justin, who was surrounded by a brood of gaggling hens. "Although, with everyone fawning over him, I doubt you'll be missed for a few minutes at least."

"You're a gem," Brian sighed, kissing her on the cheek. "I owe you."

"Yeah, yeah," Daphne said, dismissing him with a careless wave of her hand. "Just add it to my tab."

"I dread the day you call that tab due," Brian groaned, thinking of all the times this woman had forcefully yanked his head out of his ass in the beginning, and how often she'd saved it in later years. "You'll likely end up owning my first born."

"Well, Gus is adorable," Daphne smirked, waving to a blushing Gus as he passed by. That poor kid; he didn't stand a chance against Daphne. "And sweet; and a true gentleman unlike _some people_ I know. I wonder how that happened with you and Lindsay for parents? It must have been Justin's influence."

"Keep you hands off my son, brat," Brian huffed good naturedly, knowing she wasn't serious. "You already have a husband; no corrupting my impressionable boy."

"Ewwww…" Daphne said, crinkling her nose at the wholly inappropriate joke; one that Brian would never said to anyone else, but did with Daphne as she didn't take him seriously; she just shot back with her own inappropriate joke. "Unlike _some_ who shall remain nameless, I prefer my men well-aged. Now shoo, I have a best friend to distract."

Brian watched as she sashayed away and engaged Justin in some small talk, effortlessly linking her arm with his and steering him out the door towards the heated, fully-enclosed [party tent](https://imgur.com/qqcQYQM) that they'd set up in the backyard for the shower. He shook his head, marveling at her ability to wrangle Justin with just a few well-placed words; and then, once he was out of their line of sight, he loped up the stairs determined to find his husband's plans for the nursery if it killed him.

The last thing he wanted was for Justin to go into his nursery and see what the mothers had done. Not that it was bad; it just wasn't what Justin had planned and he wanted to circumvent the resulting queen out. As funny as Molly might find them to be, Brian was the one that had to deal with them when everyone went home.

Reaching the top landing, Brian headed towards the bedroom, certain that _that_ was the last time he'd seen the plans, but halted when a rattling sound caught his ear. Frowning, Brian looked down the hall and cursed under his breath when he saw that one of the bedroom doors was open; and wondered who'd had the audacity to come upstairs, as he _knew_ that he'd closed all the doors before he and Justin had gone downstairs.

Swiftly walking down the hall, intent on ripping this nosy asshole a new one, Brian paused and then internally groaned when he caught sight of Lindsay hastily making her way out of the bedroom. She quickly closed the door and then turned, freezing into place when she saw Brian standing there; he arched a brow and crossed his arms over his chest.

"What are you doing?" Brian asked, more than a little miffed that Lindsay was up here snooping; because, while she was family, all the festivities were being held outdoors due to the number of guests and there was no reason for her to be in the house.

"I was just looking around," Lindsay simpered, shaking her hair forward, so that it framed her face and made her look helpless and vulnerable. Yeah right; as helpless and vulnerable as a barracuda maybe. "I heard so much about the nursery, I just had to take a peek. Surely you wouldn't deny an old friend that."

"Actually, yes, I would," Brian said, not even bothering to hide his annoyance at her attempt to get into the nursery before it was revealed. It was just like her entitled ass to think that she held special privileges. "You can see the nursery when it's revealed to everyone else; _after_ Justin sees it for the first time."

"Interesting," Lindsay said a bit tightly, her agreeable façade faltering under the weight of Brian's irritated glare. "I would have thought that as I am family, _and_ the mother of your other child, I would rank above the likes of Carl, Drew and the others. But it seems that they all got to see it yesterday."

"And?" Brian asked pointedly, not about to fall for her little games. "Why would that make any difference in when _you_ get to see it?" He paused, waiting for an answer, but she just sniffed, making him roll his eyes. " You're not special, Lindsay; no matter what you think. And not that it's any of your fucking business; but the only reason they saw anything was because I needed help moving the furniture around. If I could have gotten everything up here myself, I wouldn't have bothered."

"That doesn't explain Deb or Jen," Lindsay huffed, looking put out that her usual tactics were falling flat, and morphing into the jealous, bitter harpy that she'd become over the years. And Brian couldn't help but mourn the loss of that girl he'd first met in college.

"Why should I explain them to you?" Brian asked, arching an unimpressed brow. "Last time I looked, I didn't answer to you."

"I just don't think it's fair that everyone has gotten a peek before me," Lindsay frowned, her face pinched and mouth pursed as if she'd spent the entire morning sucking on a box of lemons.

"And again, I fail to why you care," Brian said with a nonchalant shrug, just knowing that it would piss her off. "The only person that has a right to see it is Justin. In fact, I don't have to show _anyone_ , _anything_ right now. I could just grab Justin and show it to him alone; and then lock it back up until everyone leaves. So, again, what business is it of yours, Lindsay?"

Lindsay looked away, refusing to answer; not that Brian had expected one. He knew the truth nyways – Lindsay was once again comparing her life to the one he'd built with Justin; and even the one Justin had built in New York, and was seething with envy.

"Just as I thought," Brian smirked; he walked past Lindsay, opened the door and locked it from the inside before closing it once more; and then he walked down the hall, doing the same with every door that he came to, much to Lindsay's annoyance. "Besides, they only _think_ they know what it looks like."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Lindsay asked, all amicability gone. "They were raving about how _wonderful_ it was and how they'd _helped_ with _everything_."

"Just because it looked one way when they left," Brian snorted, as he locked the last door on this side of the house; he then spun on his heel and walked past Lindsay, heading for the nursery to make sure the door hadn't been tampered with. "Doesn't mean that it remained that way."

"They're not going to like that," Lindsay said a bit smugly; and Brian could just hear the cogs turning in her head as she tried to work out a way to use the information to her advantage. But Brian didn't care; he might have indulged the mothers yesterday because he wanted today to go as smoothly as possible; but at the end of the day, there was only one person's opinion that mattered, and he was firmly on Brian's side.

"Like I care," Brian said with a laconic shrug; he stopped in front of the nursery and was happy to see that the lock hadn't been jimmied. "The only opinion that matters is, as I said before, Justin's; and as long as he's happy, then everyone else can fuck right off." He turned to smirk at Lindsay. "You wouldn't have gotten in anyways. I locked the door last night so that Justin wouldn't get in and see it before it was time. Now, I do believe there is a party in progress, so I suggest you be on your way."

"You never did anything like this for me," Lindsay hissed; and there it was – the seething, jealous shrew that somehow believed that because he allowed her to shoot his sperm up her twat, that she somehow owned him. And that couldn't be further from the truth; it was another blond that held that claim.

"Why should I have?" Brian snorted. "Last I looked; you had a _wife_ not a _husband_. Not that you remember that fact half of the time with the way you chase after dick these days. If you had wanted the big fat catered party with all the bells and whistles, you should have told her to do something about it. It wasn't my job to play happy family with you. I just shot in a cup, remember?"

Lindsay clenched and unclentched her hands, her lips pressed into a tight, white line as she stared at Brian, obviously infuriated by his words, but unable to deny them. Brian just sneered at his one time friend, someone he'd written off years ago when she'd tried to use Gus as leverage to get her way.

That hadn't worked out well for her; but it had given him the incentive to fight for and be granted to his rights for his son.

"At least, you did until you needed money," Brian smirked, throwing his arm out in a grand, sweeping invitation towards the stairs. "Now, do us all a favor; run off to your little wifey and bitch to her about how unfair life has been for you. Because personally, I don't give a fuck; and I haven't since New York."

Brian watched as she huffed and flounced down the stairs in a thick cloud of greed, envy and fury, likely to go bitch about his behavior to whomever would listen; which were sadly few and far between these days. He shrugged, he had better things to do; he turned on his heel and entered his bedroom, determined to find that damned sketch if it were the last thing he did today.

**… … … … …**

Brian sat back in his chair with a grin, thoroughly amused by his husband's antics, and his failed attempts at keeping his mother from spilling even more delightful stories about his childhood. Likely because Brian wasn't helping him out any; and instead, continually egged Mother Taylor on as she took a trip down memory lane.

He shook his head, watching as Justin told her that she was cut off, and this time he meant it; and noted a gleam in her eyes that told him that she wasn't nearly as tipsy as she was making herself out to be. More than likely, this was a hazing ritual that her own mother put her through that she was oh-so-thoughtfully passing down to her son. Much too Justin's everlasting chagrin as she launched into another story.

"So, as everyone knows, our Justin has a wee bit of an exhibitionist streak," Mother Taylor smirked knowingly, and laughed when Justin squawked out an embarrassed, ' _Mom!_ ' "You can't deny it, sweetheart. I have evidence of this fact from when you were seventeen, and I tracked you down to that bar you love to frequent; only to find my not-so-shy teenage son walking around without a shirt."

"It was only because I was trying to get a free drink that night," Justin grumbled, burying his face into his hands; not that he was fooling anyone by the guffaws that elicited.

"Now, you know that's not true, Justy," Daphne grinned as she leaned against his chair. "I _know_ for a _fact_ that you've ran around Babylon on more than one occasion without your shirt." Justin huffed as she claimed Tucker's empty seat. "And don't _even_ get me started on what you used to get up to in the back…"

"That is enough out of you too," Justin huffed, clamping his hand over her mouth; and then squealing when she licked him in retaliation. He glared at her as he wiped his hand on his napkin. "What happens in Babylon, _stays_ in Babylon."

"Just as well; that's more than I need to know about my son," Mother Taylor said, grimacing a little as she considered what they might have gotten up to in Babylon. And then her face cleared and she smirked at Justin. "So, where was I? Oh, yes, so we all know that our Justin is an exhibitionist. What you don't know is that he got a much earlier start than you all realize."

"Oh my God," Justin groaned, beating his head against the table, making the utensils jump until Brian slid a napkin in between his head and the table.

"We were at the grocery store one day when he was about four or five," Mother Taylor said, ruffling Justin's hair when he finally laid it still. "And I swear; I had taken my eyes off of him for no more than thirty seconds as I grabbed a bag of carrots, when someone tapped me on the shoulder. I looked up to see this amused looking elderly woman; and she leans in, trying not to laugh and says, ' _Excuse me dear, but your boy is over by the potatoes, dancing naked as the day he was born._ ' "

The entire table, a good portion of the tables surrounding them, erupted into laughter as Justin groaned once more. Even Mother Taylor had to stop her tale in order to get her laughter under control; but she quickly continued much to Justin's annoyance.

"And I look over, mortified, and sure enough," Mother Taylor chuckled. "There was my little nudist, dancing away, his pride and joy flapping in the wind."

Brian snorted at the mental image, and then pressed his hand to the back of a violently flushing Justin's neck; he squeezed and then decided that as fun as it was to tease him, he should probably call a halt to it before he died of mortification. But just before Brian could suggest that they go look at the sweets table, something guaranteed to get Justin moving in a hurry, Emmett popped back up with some papers in his hands.

"Hey, Baby," Emmett said; and Brian nearly laughed at how quickly Justin had latched onto his unlikely savior. "So, I was just checking on the favor boxes; just making sure that everything was copasetic and that none of the cookies had crumbled. And I have to say, that your little addition was just so cute!"

"Oh?" Justin asked; he looked at Emmett with no little amount of confusion, his brow furrowed and his lips pursed as he tried to figure out what Emmett was talking about. Brian, on the other hand, squirmed in his seat as he knew exactly what Emmett was talking about. "Well, I'm glad you liked it?"

"Oh, I did!" Emmett nodded, flashing a wide, oblivious grin at an instantly suspicious Justin. Not that he showed it; he had gotten good at hiding his reactions over the years. But Brian knew him well enough to catch it. "Even with our little misadventure yesterday."

"Ah, that," Justin said, and a little light bulb seemed to blink on as Justin looked sharply at Brian. Brian tried to look innocent, but must have failed epically because Justin just frowned at him. "I should probably apologize for…"

"It's fine, Baby," Emmett said, dismissing Justin's concerns with a wave of his hand. "No apologies are necessary; especially when I saw those Twinkies packed into the boxes; it was such a cute idea to share your favorite treats with us. It makes us all feel like we're a part of the joke."

"Well, you know me and my Twinkies," Justin said with a sharp smile, one gimlet eye on Brian the entire time; Brian just smirked, because it wasn't like he could hide it now. "I can never get enough; and why not share that love with the world? _Right,_ honey?"

"I've always said you're far too generous for your own good," Brian agreed with a saccharine smile; and it was then that table figured out Justin actually had nothing to do with the Twinkies, and laughed.

"Oh, don't I know it," Justin agreed with a sweet smile; but Brian wasn't in the least fooled. He knew that he was going to be in so much trouble tonight; but that was what the little twat got for making his sit through those horrible birth class videos. "So are the favor boxes on the table then?"

"Yes," Emmett nodded, still completely oblivious to the undercurrents; which surprised Brian as he was usually the first one to notice these things. Then again, he could just be playing stupid just to fuck with them both. "I put them next to the take home boxes for the leftovers. Hopefully people will take most of the food with them when the leave so that you won't have too much to deal with; especially the sweets."

"Good," Justin nodded, his eyes still trained on Brian; and he could practically hear the cogs churning away. "Even if I had wanted to keep everything, there is no way we could eat it all before it went bad. How is every thing going; are we ready to start the games?"

"Yes," Emmett said, signaling to Darren as he set a box onto one of the tables and started to unpack everything that was in it. "I was just getting ready to set up the Baby Bingo; we should be ready to go in about ten minutes."

"Perfect," Justin smiled, his attention never leaving Brian. "That will give me a chance to deal with some _unfinished_ business; I'll find you in about five minutes."

Emmett looked between the two of them and then shrugged; obviously not about to ask since it would probably upset his schedule. Instead he just nodded and turned on his heel, walking over to Darren, who was setting up the Bingo station. Justin smiled until he was gone, and then turned to Brian with sharp look.

"So, honey," Justin said, his smile wide and bright and containing far too many teeth to be a real smile; Brian smirked and arched a brow. "You loved those Twinkies _so much_ that you decided to share with the world, did you?"

" _Me_?" Brian asked, resting his hand against his chest in a mock affronted manner. "What makes you think it was me that put them in there?"

"Who else would it have been?" Justin asked rhetorically, his teeth bared. He twitched while Brian just smiled, completely at ease with the situation; likely because he was imaging all those Twinkies that were now in other people's hands.

"Well, I don't know if you know this," Brian said, his voice hushed as he leaned over in a confiding manner. "But apparently we have a mouse problem; so, maybe they were storing them away for later."

And then he laughed as Justin's mouth gaped and he stared at Brian in disbelief; God, he had been waiting for an opportunity to use that excuse from the moment Justin had tried to blame their non-existent mice for the missing Twinkies.

"Gotta go, Sunshine," Brian smirked, getting to his feet and the fuck away while Justin was still speechless. "It's Daddy-Son time in the media room; see you after the games."

Brian turned on his heel and loped off, nodding to Drew and Carl as he passed, and headed for the house; he had a nursery to square away

**… … … … …**

"So as some of you know," Brian said, looking at the assembled crew of Drew, Carl, Liam, Leo, Ted and Gus. "Yesterday we moved the furniture up into the nursery."

"Yeah, five times," A haggard Ted grumbled, making Carl and Drew nod emphatically in agreement and the others snicker. Brian scowled himself as he remembered trying to tell Mother Taylor and Mama Novotny that they were perfectly capable of doing it themselves, only to be shot down by the dreaded ' _it needs a woman's touch_ ' argument.

"Not my fault," Brian grumbled, rubbing his still tender muscles.

"Are you telling me that you couldn't have told them to fuck off?" Ted asked with a scowl; and Brian was tempted to snicker because it wasn't often that you saw Ted without his filter. But he'd guessed that the long, sleepless nights with Luc had rendered it useless. "You've done it numerous times before."

"Are you telling me that you could say that to Mother Taylor?" Brian asked rhetorically, one brow arched as he stared at his exhausted, cranky friend. " _And_ keep your balls attached to your body?"

Ted grimaced, but conceded the point with a nod.

"Didn't think so," Brian smirked, and then pulled Justin's sketch out of the folder he'd put it in this morning. "Getting back to the task at hand; unless there are any more comments from the peanut gallery?"

Ted grumbled again, but shook his head.

"So, this is what we need to do," Brian said, holding up the sketch. "We need to get this room to look as close to _this_ as possible. It's not going to be exact as we still have to pick up the [rocking chair](https://imgur.com/hKbi9gb) and the [chifforobe](https://imgur.com/yhl7VoF), but otherwise it's good to go."

"Chifforobe?" Ted asked, a bewildered look on his face; Brian just shrugged as he crossed to the door.

"Fuck if I know." He said, tacking the sketch to the back of the door with a little bit of putty; hopefully, by using that, Justin wouldn't kill him. "It's part dresser and part armoire? Jen had to get rid of hers because the door cracked somehow. One of those stories where Molly said Justin did it and Justin said Molly did it; but whatever it was, we needed to get another. Thankfully, I was able to get it custom-ordered so I don't have to stain it myself."

Brian moved out of the way, so that everyone could take a look at the sketch. Thankfully, the heavy lifting would be easy and done quickly due to the sketch. However, what was going to take a while was all the little details; like placing the toys and filling the dresser with all the blankets and putting up all manner of baby gadgets into the room.

"Now Drew, you and I will get the dresser and move it over there," Brian said, pointing to the far wall. "In the mean time, Carl; if you and Ted can move the crib to where the dresser is located that'd be great. And then Leo, if you and Liam could move the bookcase over there, I'd appreciate it."

"What can I do, Dad?" Gus asked, looking around the room.

"You, Sonny Boy, are in charge of taking the toys and books off the shelves," Brian said as he ruffled his hair, much to his annoyance. "Justin has a whole mess of stuff in that closet over there. So, I want you to start putting _that_ stuff up on the shelves and into the drawers once we get things moved. We'll add Grandmom Deb's and Jen's stuff in once we have the room to Justin's specifications."

Gus nodded and went over to the bookcase and began pulling everything down and getting it ready to be moved by Liam and Leo. In the meantime, Brian started pulling out the blankets and stuffed animals out of the crib, shaking his head as he did so. Didn't they realize that you weren't supposed to have anything in the crib as it was a potential hazard for Sunbeam?

Tossing it all into the closet, he pulled off the fitted sheet as well, since Justin had a different one planned according to the sketch and tossed that into the closet as well.

"I can't believe that we're doing this again," Ted grumbled as he and Carl came over in preparation of moving the now empty crib. "I'm not even getting laid for this."

"That sounds like a personal problem to me," Brian quipped, smirking when Ted's scowl deepened and he flipped Brian off. "Me on the other hand; I will so be getting lucky for this. Now let's get this going. We have less than two hours before I have to be out there for the presents and this needs to be done by then."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I need to address this; being a culinary arts and hospitality management major, I know that it’s actually against regulations to send catered food home with the party goers due to sanitation and potential liability issues. Or at least that’s true here in California. But as this is a ‘family’ party, where the caterer is part of said family, I bent the rules a bit in this case.


	85. March 22 (Part Three)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh my God; this is a monster. I never even got to the part that I was stressing about yesterday; the one that had me putting off this update until today because this got so freaking long with just the gifts and the nursery reveal. So that part will have to wait until tomorrow.

**March 22 (Part Three)**

Justin sat down, fatigue washing over him; the only bad thing about today was the fact that he'd missed early afternoon nap. It was leaving him feeling decidedly drained and he couldn't wait until everyone went home and he had the chance to rest. Fighting back a yawn, scrubbed his hand over his face, and wondered if he could get away with running into the house and making that cup of coffee that he'd never made this morning.

He glanced around at the gathered crowd and grimaced; the odds weren't very likely at this point. Best to just push on through until their guests leave; at least the ones that weren't family. The family was so used to him curling up and falling asleep at the oddest of times and in the oddest of places lately, that it didn't even faze them anymore.

Looking up when he felt a hand on the back of his neck, Justin smiled tiredly as Brian sat down next to him; leaning in when Brian pressed his lips to his temple, Justin hummed and just soaked up his husband's presence, groaning with pleasure as Brian's fingers works out some of the kinks in his neck and back.

"Come here," Brian said, sitting back on the [outdoor chaise](https://imgur.com/Dn2HKXC) that they were sharing; he helped Justin scoot back, pulling him into the apex of his thighs and against his chest. Justin groaned with relief when reclining instantly reduced the pressure on his lower back. "I promise, that once we are done with the gifts, we'll get some quiet time no matter what people want or think."

"That would be amazing," Justin said, sighing with contentment when Brian's deft fingers massaged his neck and shoulders. "I didn't expect to be this tired. It's not like I've done much other than sit around and eat."

"Ah, but that is like an Olympic-class sport to you, Sunshine," Brian snickered, yelping when Justin elbowed him in the stomach. "That kind of eating takes some serious energy to digest. I'm surprised that you're not comatose half the time."

"Asshole," Justin huffed, squirming in the chaise, trying to get more comfortable. "And here I was actually thinking charitable thoughts about you. I won't make that same mistake again."

"Now, now," Brian teased, running his hands over Justin's shoulders and down to cup his belly. "There is no need to get testy."

"Mmmm…" Justin hummed, tipping his head back against Brian's shoulder and closing his eyes as Brian began an impromptu belly massage. "Keep doing that and all will be forgiven."

"You're so easy, Sunshine," Brian teased, running his hands up under Justin's shirt and up the middle of his belly, and down over the sides to the underside of his belly once more. He loved when Brian did this; while he could easily do it for himself, he felt so connected to Brian and Sunbeam in these moments that he preferred Brian to do it.

"Lucky for you," Justin said with a smirk. "You could have been like poor Ted and only getting sex once or twice a week if you're lucky."

"Oh, God," Brian groaned and actually shuddered at the thought; Justin laughed. "Don't even joke about things like that. Christ, with your libido, if we're only have sex once or twice a week, there is something seriously wrong."

"Poor, honey," Justin teased, giggling when Brian pinched his thigh in retaliation. "I'll bet you're going to end up having nightmares about that tonight."

"I wouldn't make light of that if I were you, twat," Brian growled for his ears only, pulling him tightly against his hardening cock. "I might just take it out of your ass tonight."

"Promises, promises," Justin snickered, barely biting back a groan when Brian's dick twitched against his ass.

"Oh, but you know that that I keep my promises, Sunshine," Brian purred, wrapping an arm around his belly; Justin squirmed; and fuck, this was so not the time to get a hard on. "And well you know…"

Brian trailed off when a flash of light disturbed their banter; Justin looked up, blinking as Daphne stood, smirking and holding a camera.

"Sorry," she said in the most insincere manner as possible; like she hadn't known full well what was going on. "You two were just so adorable; I couldn't resist taking a picture."

Brian growled, glaring at a giggling Daphne, who just went back to her conversation as if she just hadn't ruined their vibe. Which, actually, was just as well; this was hardly the place for them to getting up to anything risqué. Justin looked around, blatantly ignoring the knowing looks of some as he searched out and focused on Emmett; and nodded to him to let him know that they were ready to get on with this.

Emmett nodded and then turned to the crowd to continue his master of ceremonies duties with a wide grin.

"Before we get started," Emmett said, waving his hands to get everyone quieted down. "I just wanted to point out that Darren has cut and put out the cake; so if you want some, fell free to grab it while we get things set up over here." Emmett cast a look at a suddenly alert Justin, and snickered. "And if someone could bring a couple of slices for our Daddies-to-be, that would be great."

"I don't need…" Brian started, but was cut off when Justin ' _nudged_ ' him in the side. Brian scowled and rubbed his ribs, but didn't say anything else as Gus brought over two healthy slabs of cake, which Justin fell onto with great gusto.

"With Justin here," Emmett said dryly, smirking when Justin flipped him off and then just continued to eat his cake. "I'm sure it won't go to waste."

And much to Justin's annoyance, everyone in earshot laughed. He just shrugged; so what if he liked his sweets. He was eating for two here, and if Sunbeam wants cake, Sunbeam will damned well get the cake. Brian just shook his head in disbelief, but did open his mouth when Justin offered him a bite, so all was good in his world.

"Now, Mother Taylor," Emmett continued, gesturing to his mother with the [baby book](https://imgur.com/tgVHYOx) Justin had bought. "We'll have you sit here, so that you can record the gifts."

"Oh God," his mother groaned, glaring at a smirking Brian; he knew just how much she hated being called Mother Taylor. Or well, she said that she hated it; but Justin knew better. "He's got you doing it too."

"What can I say?" Brian smirked, his eyes gliting with humor as he looked down at Justin. "They all come to the dark side eventually. We have…"

"Don't say it!" Justin hissed, poking him in the side; but Brian just grunted and continued undeterred.

"…Twinkies."

"Ohhh, you're so in trouble…" Justin grumbled when his mother laughed and sat in the chair next to their chaise lounge.

"And Jenny, Gus," Emmett continued, ignoring the banter in favor of getting things done. "I'll have you sit here and collect the bows and ribbons to decorate this hat."

"I am not wearing that," Justin huffed, looking at the [floppy brimmed hat](https://imgur.com/thiecFG) with distaste; glaring when Brian grabbed it from Emmett and tried to place it on Justin's head.

"Is that a challenge?" Brian asked, snickering when Justin kept dodging his attempts to crown him with that atrocity.

"Do you want to sleep in the guest room?" Justin challenged, snickering when Brian instantly stopped and handed the hat to Jenny.

"You're no fun," Brian grumbled, leaning against the back of the chaise.

"Not what you said last night," Justin quipped, and then cringed as he met his mother's exasperated gaze; he had completely forgotten that she was there.

"TMI, Justin," she huffed opening the book as Emmett set the first of the gifts in front of Justin. Yeah, he probably should wait to banter with Brian after the shower is done.

**… … … … …**

Justin was quickly making his way through the gifts, happy to be getting everything he'd wanted so far and even doubles on a few key things. He didn't mind that at all as he had a feeling that they were going to go through stuff like crazy. Setting aside yet another blanket and layette set, he turned his attention as two wrapped boxes were set in front of him. He looked up at Emmett and arched a brow.

"I was told that they go together," Emmett said, handing the green box to Brian and leaving the yellow one in front of Justin. "And I was told that you each had to open these particular boxes. Lucille's orders."

Justin looked up and smiled briefly at Lucille and then began unwrapping the box in front of him, handing off the bow to Jenny. He did want to keep them even if he had no intention of going through the hat ritual. He had draw a line somewhere. Opening the box, Justin pulled out the [black backpack-style diaper bag](https://imgur.com/Vpn40UF) and grinned.

Awesome! He'd really liked this one; and it had the added bonus that Brian wouldn't immediately set it on fire when he saw it. Looking at the bag, he startled when Brian started laughing; he'd completely forgotten that Brian had a gift too.

Looking over his shoulder, he frowned, confused when Brian pulled out another [diaper bag](https://imgur.com/Tb7myzI). He knew for a fact that he hadn't put that on the registry; and then, when Brian turned it around to show Justin, it all became clear. Snorting, Justin stared at the navy blue Armani diaper bag that likely cost twice the amount his had and shook his head.

"We got that one especially for you, Brian dear," Lucille smirked, laughing when Brian flashed her a thumbs up. "I saw it and knew you had to have it. We did get the one from the registry as well for you Justin. But this just screamed Brian to me."

"Always the label queen," Mel smirked, snickering when Brian flipped her off.

"Bite me, Smelly Melly," Brian said, smirking when she grimaced at the idea

"You wish," Mel shouted back, making the entire party laugh and Brian grimace in disgust as he handed his bag off to Emmett.

Justin handed his off to and then turned to the next present. He looked at the card and smiled, before handing it off to his mother to record. "It's from Blake and Ted," He said over his shoulder to Brian as he tore the yellow and white paper away.

He handed the paper and bow to Brian, who disposed of the paper and handed the bow over to Gus. Justin flipped the box over and looked at it, frowning when he didn't recognize it. He knew that he hadn't put this on his registry, but now he was wishing that he had because this would be a life saver. He looked up at Blake and Ted.

"I know this wasn't on your registry," Blake said, shrugging when Justin flashed him a thumbs up. "But my sister bought it for me and it is the best thing ever. It has saved my sanity on several occasions."

"It's fantastic," Justin agreed as he looked at the combination [bouncer, rocker and sleeper](https://imgur.com/092XVy8), marveling that he'd missed this when he was looking through the websites for his registry. "I can see how useful it would be; especially when I'm in the studio. Thanks!"

Justin slid the box towards Em, who stocked with his pile of opened loot. He looked up and grinned; the next item was obvious as it was out of its box and already to go, with nothing but a big yellow bow around it. He smoothed his hands over the [stroller](https://imgur.com/6RWEisN), looking it over and even happier with it now that he was seeing it up close and not just on the website. He looked for a card, but couldn't find one, so he looked around to find out who had purchased it and landed on Carl and Deb.

"This is a collective gift from the Horvath-Novotny-Bruckners," Carl explained with a smile. "All of us went in on it – Me, Deb, Hunter, <a href="https://imgur.com/9HjfVM2">Elena</a>, Ben and Michael. Ben said he wished that he could be here, but he sends you his love and good wishes."

"Thank you," Justin said with a smile and took off the bow before Emmett carted it away, and handed it to Jenny. He did note that Carl had mentioned Ben, but hadn't said anything about Michael. Not that he was surprised by it; Michael was likely still licking his wounds and wasn't ready to try whining at them again for a bit.

Justin quickly made his way through a few more gifts, with all the expected things – bottles, clothing, more blankets, a baby monitor, and two bottle warmers. He was excited over it all and thanked everyone profusely for their gifts before sending the on their way and going onto the next. Only this time, instead of one box, he got three all wrapped in the same ' _you are my sunshine_ ' wrapping paper.

"These are from Lindsay, Mel and the kids," Emmett said; and then he began pointing at the boxes. "This one is from Mel and Lindsay, this is from Gus, and this is from Jenny."

Justin nodded and opened the one from Lindsay and Mel first, handing the bow off to Gus, and the card to his mother so she could record it. He carefully opened the package as he really liked the paper and wanted to save it for a project he had in mind. Opening the box, he pulled out a piece of navy-blue material, and it took him a moment to realize that it was a [baby sling](https://imgur.com/lK2NOsc), another thing he hadn't thought of.

"This also wasn't on the list," Mel said with a smile. "But like Blake, I couldn't live without it. I figured it would be great for when you want to sketch in the studio."

"Thank you," Justin said, still looking at the sling and had to agree that it would be really useful when he was in his studio; maybe not while he was painting, but definitely if he was working with his pastels, charcoal or pencils. "I'm sure I'll get a lot of use out of it."

He handed it off to Brian, who in turn handed it off to Emmett, and then turned back to the box that Emmett said was from Gus. Looking over at his son, he smiled and then tore the paper away and handed it off to Brian. He opened the box and pulled out a book – [If You Give a Mouse a Cookie](https://imgur.com/UNOJyxI) – a matching mouse plushie, and an absolutely adorable mouse towel robe. He was sensing a theme here.

He looked at Gus and arched a brow.

"Jenny and I decided to get Sunbeam one of our favorite books and some things to go with them," Gus said with a shit-eating grin, his eyes so like his father's as they sparkled with mischief. "I chose this one because I know how fond you are of mice, Jus."

Justin gaped at him, and then huffed when he remembered that Gus had been there when he'd told Brian that the mice had ate the Twinkies. Little brat; he was so his father's son. Brian just looked at the gifts and started laughing, his head thrown back, and then he held up his fist for a fist bump.

"Did you put him up to this?" Justin asked, narrowing his eyes at his husband.

"I had nothing to do with it," Brian said, still laughing at their son's audacity, his hands held up in supplication. "But, damn, that was good; well done, Sonny Boy."

"Like father, like son," Justin grumbled, shaking his head as Brian pulled Gus into a hug and just kept on right on laughing. "Sarcastic, little shi…"

"Now, now, Sunshine," Brian said, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. "None of that language here; we have ladies present." And then pointedly looked at Deb. "Mostly."

"Fuck you too, you little shit!" Deb called, laughing at Brian's tongue in cheek grin.

"See, she agrees with me," Justin smirked, pulling the last box over to him.

"That's because you're the favorite," Brian sighed, resting his hand over his heart in mock woe.

"And don't you forget it," Justin snickered, yelping when Brian pinched his ass; and then he shrugged. At least, it was in a place no one but he would see. He quickly unwrapped the box and opened it, pulling out a [Curious George](https://imgur.com/6H2PdKK) book set and plushie.

"I got a set because I couldn't pick just one," Jenny said with a shy smile. "I like them all."

"Thank you sweetheart," Justin said, pressing a kiss to her cheek; he looked at the books and smiled with delight. "I loved these books when I was a kid."

"That makes so much sense," Brian snorted, grunting when Justin jabbed him in the ribs. "No wonder you're prone to wreaking havoc."

"And speaking of books," Deb smirked, cutting them off before they could get going again. "This one is just from me for the fathers. Enjoy."

Justin took the flat package with a confused smile, but opened it and then just looked at it for a minute, making sure he was actually see what he thought he saw; and then he threw his head back and laughed as he handed the [book](https://imgur.com/qnwKIkO) off to his husband. Brian took one look at it, read the title - Go the Fuck to Sleep by Adam Mansbach - and snorted before handing the book off to his mother, who laughed as well as she started paging through the pages and reading some of the script.

"This bears a striking resemblance to Justin's night time ritual," his mother smirked, setting the book aside and making note of the gift in their record

"Mom!" Justin huffed, sighing when she just shrugged; he wasn't even going to pursue that as it was an argument that he was destined to lose.

He went through a few more gifts before all of a sudden Emmett laid a large clothing box wrapped in [bright rainbow paper](https://imgur.com/eqMwP52) in front of Justin with a flourish. And if he hadn't guessed by the paper alone who it was from, the proud smile on his face said it all. Justin looked at the bright paper and [bow](https://imgur.com/IXlF3GL), looked over at Brian's aghast face and then looked back at a beaming Emmett and arched a brow.

"And this one is from me and Drew," Emmett said with a bright smile.

"I gathered from the whole rainbow theme," Justin smirked, knowing again this was one more way to needle Brian about the whole rainbow thing.

"I think I'm blind," Brian lamented, rubbing his eyes and grimacing as he looked away from the brightly-colored package.

Justin snickered as he pulled off the bow and handed it over to Gus, and then carefully unwrapped the paper from the box, because this he wanted to save if for no other reason to give Brian a bad time. He folded it up and handed it to Brian, who stared at it with trepidation. "Please set that aside, I have a plan for it."

Brian groaned, but did set it aside – under all the others that Justin had told him to save. Justin snickered and then turned back to the box and opened it; he pulled out a [white baby grow with navy piping and a navy blue velour snow suit](https://imgur.com/7rG0jjx). And then he groaned when he noticed the emblem. What is it with people and designer shit today?

"Now Big Bad, I know you're going to love these," Emmett said as he held them up one at a time to Brian. "The blue one is for about 6-9 months since it's a snow suit, and Sunbeam is due in the summer."

"Oh, my God," Justin said as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Please tell me you didn't!"

"Awwww, honey," Brian snickered as he held up the baby grow. "It's Baby's First Armani."

"And last," Justin said, holding up his hand when Brian made to protest. "No, Brian. Our kids will not be wearing designer clothing until they are old enough to appreciate _and_ take care of them. I am not paying fifty dollars for a baby grow that Sunbeam is just going to spit up on."

"You are seriously understating the price there, Sunshine," Brian smirked, placing both outfits back into the box and handing it off to Emmett with a smile. Of course, he would smile; he'd managed to find a way around Justin's no designer clothing rule, as he knew damned well that Justin would never return a gift.

"All the more reason," Justin huffed, rolling his eyes when Brian just snickered. He turned away to find three boxes in front of him. He looked up with an raised brow.

"Molly, Cynthia and I went with a theme," Yasmeen said, gesturing to the three boxes. "Mine is the one with the baby Winnie the Pooh characters on it. Molly's is the one with the baby safari animals on it. And Cynthia's has the teddy bears on it."

Justin nodded, and opened up [Yasmeen's](https://imgur.com/QwjkZrY) first, smiling when he found ducky onsies, and Winnie the Pooh sleepers, along with a baby Winnie the Pooh and a baby Tigger plushie. In [Molly's](https://imgur.com/c1iR5DY) he found three sleepers with a stars and clouds theme, four onesies with a safari animal theme and a plushie baby giraffe. In [Cynthia's](https://imgur.com/wuya5dU) box he found a gift basket set with a blanket, clothing, and bath items with a teddy bear theme, as well as a bottle and a teddy bear plushie.

"Oh these are adorable," Justin gushed, flipping through all of the clothing once again, happy to be getting more. "Thank you."

"And don't worry," Yasmeen said, smirking at Brian. "They aren't Armani."

"Well, at least someone gets it!" Justin said, snickering when Brian huffed, handing over the new loot to Emmett.

Justin stretched, and rubbed at his back again. As much as he was enjoying seeing everything that people had bought, but this was taking forever. He really couldn't wait to lay down and rest. Smiling when Brian's hands joined his, he leaned into his husband's touch, sighing again when the pressure eased.

"Are you okay?" Brian asked again, watching him with a concerned look on his face.

"It's fine," Justin said, dismissing it with a wave of his hand; and he was fine. He knew exactly what was happening and it was nothing to concern anyone with. But, of course, Brian wouldn't let it go at that, he frowned until Justin gave in. "It's just Braxton Hicks."

"Are you sure about that," Brian asked, an alarmed expression on his face.

"Yes, dad," Justin huffed. "I'm fine. I was told it was possible to have them from time to time, during the third trimester. I'm not in pain; it's just a slight pressure. It's uncomfortable and irregular. I'll be fine."

"Do you need some tea, sweetheart?" his mother asked, having listened in on the conversation.

"That would be great," Justin said, nodding as he mother whispered something to Darren. "Mint tea if I can get it."

"Darren is going to take care of that," his mother said as she turned back to him. "Now lets get these last couple of presents done and then you can go into the house and lay down for a while; sometimes just changing position or taking a bath can help."

Justin nodded and then focused on the present in front of him that was wrapped in more ' _you are my sunshine_ ' themed paper. He looked up at Lindsay and Mel in confusion as it was the same paper that they'd had, but they shook their heads in negation. Or, well, Mel had while Lindsay just sat there as if she'd smelled something foul. And he really needed to do something about that and soon.

"This is from [Liam](https://imgur.com/Y7iN46f), Kian and myself," Daphne said; Justin nodded and pulled the bow off, handing it off to Jenny; and then quickly unwrapped it to find another [baby carrier](https://imgur.com/sOu8mSD), but this one was much more structured. "It was the only one that I could get Liam to agree to, so I figured that even Brian couldn't find fault with it."

"I wouldn't hold my breath on that," Justin smirked, batting Brian's hand away before he could pinch on the side; obviously well aware of what Justin was going to say. "If it doesn't say Armani, Dior or Dolce & Gabbana, it might be too plebian for his tastes."

Justin laughed as Brian huffed and pulled the carrier towards him, reading the box and nodding. Well, it must have passed inspection then. Brian handed it off to Emmett and then they turned back to find the last present in front of them. But this one wasn't wrapped; instead, it was a long, [slender ornate box](https://imgur.com/2ewhhCj). Justin picked it up, to study it, certain he'd seen it before, but he couldn't remember where.

It _was_ beautiful though.

He looked up as his mother handed off the baby book to Molly and came to sit with him and Brian. She touched the box, gently tracing the intricate detailing as her eyes misted over; and then she opened it to reveal a [silver baby rattle](https://imgur.com/6t4glxB).

"This is something that has been passed down in our family for four generations, from first born to first born," his mother said, pulling the ornate rattle out and holding it to the light. "This isn't the original box; that was lost some time before my mother got it; so she bought this antique glove box to put it in." His mother placed the rattle back into the box, closed it and handed it to him. "My mother passed it down to me when I had you. And now, I'm passing it down to you, making it the fifth generation. And then you'll hold onto it until Sunbeam has his or her first child."

"Mom," Justin said, his voice hoarse and trembling as he blinked, trying to hold back the film of tears in his eyes; fucking hormones. He swallowed thickly and rubbed his hand over his eyes, dashing away the few tears that had managed to escape. "It's…amazing, but what about Molly? I mean surely she'd like…"

"I've already talked to Molly," His mother said with a smile; Justin looked over at his sister, who nodded and smiled. He choked up again as he held the box to his chest. "She's fine with it as the tradition states that the mother will buy a new rattle for the any of the younger children; and they can begin their own tradition of passing the rattle down."

"It's beautiful," Justin whispered, still struggling not to completely lose it, and failing miserably as a tear streaked down his cheek. He cleared his throat and grabbed her hand. "Thank you; I will treasure it always."

His mother nodded, tears in her own eyes as she pulled him into a hug; he wrapped his arms around her and held on, trying not to cry, but not having much luck as she ran her hands through his hair. God, he hadn't expected this today. Tucking his head into her shoulder, he gave a watery laugh when his mother tugged Brian into the embrace, much against his feeble protests. And then soon Jenny and Gus had joined, along with Molly, and he couldn't help but feel like a fucking twat for crying over a rattle.

"As that was the last present," Emmett said, making Justin smile in gratitude as he shooed people away; he didn't think he could face any of them yet. "Why don't we give them a few minutes to themselves. There is still plenty of cake and sweets over there at the buffet and we've brought out some more sliders for those of you who are still hungry. Don't worry Baby, I'll save you a few."

"Asshole," Justin huffed, a watery laugh spilling over his lips as Emmett pranced away.

He lifted his head and looked around, thankful that almost everyone had dispersed and wandered off in the direction of the juice, coffee and tea bar and the sweets table. Wiping his eyes, he managed to pry himself out of the group hug and stood, massaging his lower back again, trying to ease the stiffness. And then smiled when Darren came up to him with his requested mint tea; he hadn't been drinking enough today, which was likely why he was having issues.

"Actually, Honeycutt," Brian called out, garnering Emmett's immediate attention. He smirked when Em scowled at the use of his last name. Justin hid a smile in his tea cup at the never-ending argument between the two friends. "That was not the last present as you well know; we still have one more to go."

"Oh, that's right," Emmett said, his eyes widening as he slapped himself on the forehead. "How could I have forgotten; well, no matter. Folks! I was mistaken; there is one last present to give. So, after you've had a chance to refresh yourselves and get something to drink and all of that, we need to head into the house and down into the media room for the King's present to his Prince."

"Brian," Justin protested, looking at his husband in confused surprise; because, while he had gotten Brian a daddy gift, he hadn't expected anything in return. The party would have been enough. Although, he should have known that Brian would do something; he never believed in doing things halfway. "You know you didn't have to…"

"I know, Sunshine," Brian said, dropping a kiss onto his hair. "But trust me, Sunshine; you'll love it. So, finish your tea, and maybe grab something to eat other than that God awful pound of sugar you consumed earlier, and then we'll get this last bit done."

**… … … … …**

Twenty minutes later found Justin in the house and upstairs, standing with Brian between their bedroom and the nursery. He'd managed to reassure everyone that he was fine and that he hadn't had another contraction since getting up and moving around, and drinking not only his tea, but another full glass of water. No, he wasn't going into labor; yes, he was certain it was Braxton Hicks. No he didn't want to call his doctor to check and he didn't need to go to the hospital.

He was fine; Christ, you would have thought he was about to pop the kid out right the on the backyard patio with the way they were acting.

Sighing, he took a deep, calming breath and leaned into Brian, wondering why they were up here and what exactly they were waiting for.

"We need to wait here for just moment until Emmett gives me the signal," Brian said, startling Justin until he realized he must have spoken that last part out loud.

"Signal?" Justin asked, tipping his head back to look at Brian.

"That everyone is in the media room," Brian said, dropping a kiss his nose; snickering when Justin scrunched it and the scrubbed his hand over it. What? It had tickled.

"If everyone is down there," Justin said, looking down the stairs with a small frown on his face, still trying to figure out what was going on. "Then why are we up here?"

"You'll see," Brian said mysteriously, that annoyingly smug smile on his face; the one that told Justin that he knew something Justin didn't and that he wouldn't tell him until he was good and ready; which better be in the next few minutes or he'd really be in trouble tonight.

"I hate when you do that," Justin huffed, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I know," Brian smirked, sounding just as smug as ever.

Justin opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off by the blare of one of those horns you hear at sport events. What the actual fuck? Justin winched and jumped, looking down at a now laughing Emmett. Flipping him off, Justin turned and glared at his snickering husband for good measure.

"You could have warned me about that before it happened," he groused, smacking Brian in the arm.

"But that wouldn't have been nearly as much fun," Brian snickered leading him closer to the nursery door. "Okay, close your eyes."

"That sounds ominous," Justin quipped, not being serious about it at all; but apparently Brian decided to take it seriously anyways.

"Do you trust me, Sunshine?" Brian asked, looking down into Justin's eyes.

"Always," Justin replied without any hesitation whatsoever.

"Then close your eyes," Brian said, pressing a kiss to his brow. "I promise it will be well worth it." He waited until Justin complied and then pressed his lips to Justin's ear, murmuring in a low voice as if he expected to be overheard. "Don't make me break out the blindfold, Sunshine."

"Oh, but why?" Justin quipped, but keeping his eyes closed and trusting Brian to lead him; he cocked his head as he heard the snick of a lock disengaging and wondered what was going on. "We have so much fun with it."

"Not the kind that we can have in front of others," Brian chided, pulling Justin into what he assumed was the nursery, but for why he couldn't fathom. "But do hold onto that thought for later."

"All these promises for later," Justin kidded, gripping Brian's hands tightly when he stopped moving, almost sending Justin careening into him. "If even half of those came true, I won't be able to move tomorrow."

"Just tomorrow?" Brian quipped, coming up behind Justin and turning him a bit. "And here I was aiming at a whole week. I need to up my game. Okay, are you ready for this?"

"Been ready," Justin said, squirming with anticipation. "Now, stop being a fucking tease, hurry up and let me open my eyes before I kick your ass."

"As charming as ever, Sunshine," Brian snickered. "How did you ever manage to keep me?"

"That was easy," Justin smirked, remembering a night years before. "I walked up to you on the dance floor, bare-chested and all but begging you to fuck me, but rather than go for you like you were expecting, I stole your tricks for the evening, making you realize that there was a whole lot more to this twink than a pretty face."

"And I've been chasing after you ever since," Brian said, pressing a kiss to his temple. "Even when it seemed like I was pushing you away, inside I was begging you to stay. And I'm so glad that you did, Sunshine; because it led to this. Open them."

Justin opened his eyes, and then gasped, his hands flying to his mouth as he stared around the nursery with wonder, taking in all the details. His eyes misted over as he looked and found all the little things he'd accumulated through out the last several month sitting on shelves and tables and on the dresser.

And speaking of the dresser, the furniture was gorgeous. He walked over to the crib – the perfect crib – that was stained a light brown that complimented the mural, with the mattress covered in the moss green sheet that he'd bought, with the ivory and green decorative quilt folded and draped over the railing. He ran his hand down the satin smooth finish and just shook his head in wonder.

He looked to his right and noticed the bookcase filled with books and toys, and walked over in a daze to touch them. It was set up exactly like his sketch; although there seemed to be a few additional books and toys as well. He turned and crossed over to the dresser and opened them, and sure enough, all the blankets and burp rags and onsies and layettes and other things he'd bought filled the drawers. He closed them and then ran his hands over the dresser, again beautifully done with a satin finish.

"Is this…?" Justin asked, fairly certain that he recognized the furniture.

"Your baby furniture," Brian confirmed with a small smile. "Yes; and well, Molly's as well. I picked them up from your mother a couple of months ago, stripped the paint off, sanded them down and stained them – all natural stain at that as I know how you feel about using all natural stuff in Sunbeam's room. And then yesterday, when Emmett was distracting you, Carl, Drew, Ted and I moved everything up."

"That's what you were doing in the stables," Justin said, still taking in the room with no little amount of wonder. He pressed his hands to his cheeks as his throat tightened and fuck he was nearly on the verge of tears again.

"That's what I was working on in the stables," Brian nodded, and then looked around with a small smile. "So, what do you think? Worth the wait?"

Justin just shook his head in disbelief, hearing the double meaning in the words; and his heart fluttered at having this amazingly frustrating, but wonderful man in his life. He walked up to him, cupped his cheeks and pressed his lips to his, kissing him for all he was worth. Brian cupped his face and returned it, smiling against Justin's mouth.

Justin pulled back and rested his head against Brian's and just breathed him in, his hands buried into the hair at the nape of his neck.

"God, I can't believe you did this," Justin choked out, pulling back to look at his perfect nursery once again, still somewhat in a daze when he caught sight of a camera. He looked at Brian and pointed, arching a brow.

"Wave hello to the camera, Sunshine," Brian smirked, waving at the camera himself. "That's why everyone needed to be in the media room; it's a motione sensor camera that is live feeding to my laptop and playing on the TV down in the media room. There was no way we were going to cram all those people up here. Plus, I wanted it to be just us up here. They can come and look at it throughout the afternoon before they leave."

"God, this is so…" Justin trailed off when he couldn't find the words to express the sheer joy and love he was feeling for this ridiculously romantic man. He swiped at his face, coming away with tears. "Fuck; what is it with you assholes and trying to make me cry today?"

"I think you surpassed trying a while back, Sunshine," Brian said, laughing when Justin flipped him off. "So, I'm assuming that we did okay?"

"Okay!? God, Brian," Justin stared at him, utterly speechless. "It's just like I imagined it."

"I should hope so," Brian said, rolling his lips between his teeth. "I went through great lengths to replicate your sketch. And trust me, if you knew what I had to deal with to get this room looking like this…"

"It's perfect," Justin said, walking up and kissing him softly on the lips. "Thank you!"

"You're welcome, Sunshine," Brian said, that shy smile that he loved so much, but didn't always get to see on his face; he leaned down and pressed their heads together. "Now how about a nap?"

"Not just yet," Justin said, a wide smile spreading across his face. He was planning to do this later, but he couldn't wait any longer to give Brian his presents. "Come with me to the bedroom. I have a present for you as well."

"Well, then by all means, Sunshine," Brian purred, waggling his eyebrows is a supercilious way. "Lead the way."

"Not that, you perv," Justin huffed, but still nearly bouncing on his toes as they walked to their bedroom. "Not with a house full of people; that will have to wait until tonight."

"You're no fun," Brian halfheartedly complained as they walked into the bedroom; Justin just shook his head in exasperation and pointed to one of the over-stuffed chairs.

"Sit there," Justin commanded as he walked towards the closet. "I'll be right back."

"I'll be waiting in great anticipation, Sunshine," Brian called as Justin hurried into the closet; he crossed over to the basket that Brian called the rag bin and Justin called his painting clothes, and dug through it until he got to the bottom and his gifts.

He pulled them out, one by one, and then tossed his clothing back into the basket. He picked the three packages up and carried them out into the bedroom. Setting them on the end table by the chair, Justin climbed onto the chair, parked his ass on the empty space next to Brian and draped his legs across Brian's lap. He reached for the first gift, the one with all of his favorite toiletries, and handed it to him.

"Open that first," Justin demanded, squirming until he was comfortable.

Brian watched him indulgently and then opened the gift, smiling when he pulled out the basket that held his care package. He peeled away the cellophane that Justin had wrapped it in and pulled the bottles out one by one to inspect them.

"Are you saying that I need a bath, Sunshine," Brian teased, putting everything back in the basket and setting it aside."I promise, I _did_ shower this morning."

"Asshole," Justin said without heat, rolling his eyes when Brian chuckled. "I just thought that you're always taking such good care of me; that this time I'd do the same."

"Thank you, Sunshine," Brian said, kissing him softly on the mouth. "I do appreciate it."

"This one next," Justin said, handing him the package that held the wet shaving kit.

Brian took the box and unwrapped it, pulling out the steeling silver shaving bowl filled with his favorite brand of shaving cream, the after shave balm and the wet shaving kit, delight filling his eyes as he studied them. "This is fantastic, Sunshine. I've been meaning to get a new one for a while now."

"I know," Justin said smugly, shaking his head. "It's a little hard not to when you say it every single time you use it; I got tired of your bitching and decided to just do it for you." He smirked when Brian shot him a weak glare, and then he picked up the remaining box.

"Now, this is your real gift. The others were just little baubles because I wanted to spoil you considering how often you've had to put up with all my insanity the past few months. This is your Dad gift from me and Sunbeam; because I really do appreciate everything you've been doing and I know I can be a pain to live with when my hormones are running high, and I never want you to think that I take that for granted."

Brian swallowed thickly, his eyes shimmering just a bit as he took the box from Justin's hands. He opened the box slowly, as if he wanted to draw it out and then swallowed thickly again, and smiled as he looked at the contents.

"They're custom made," Justin said, as Brian picked up one of the [cufflinks](https://imgur.com/9Z8i3JX); it, like the tie tack that went with them, was square-shaped and depicted the rising, morning sun. "They're platinum, with twenty-four carat gold-leaf for the rays. Just a small something to remind you that your Sunshine and Sunbeam love you."

"I love them, Sunshine," Brian said, laying the cufflink back in the box; he closed it and set it aside, and then pulled Justin into his lap, crushing their lips together as he murmured against them. "And I love you too."


	86. March 22 (Part Four)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You know the drill; for every bit of sweet, there must be a bit of sour. In this case, it was a case of sour grapes that needed stomping. Hopefully, you won't kill me for ending the love fest.

**March 22 – (Part Four)**

Justin stirred on the bed and rubbed his face into his body pillow; he was still lost in between the warm haze of sleep and wakefulness. And he was reluctant to return to the realm of full wakefulness just yet. He was far too comfortable.

After he'd given Brian his gifts, and they'd had a few quiet moments to themselves, only interrupted by a pouting Emmett who complained that he'd wanted to see Big Bad's reaction to Justin's gift, Brian had insisted that Justin take a warm bath and nap. He'd been reluctant at first, the actions going against everything he knew about being a good host, but, as Brian pointed out, the shower was mostly over and Sunbeam was more important than a few potential hurt feelings.

So, he'd conceded and took a bath while Brian dispatched most of their guests, and then came back to help Justin out of the tub and then into bed, where Justin had almost promptly fallen asleep. Opening his eyes, Justin looked at the clock across from him and frowned when he realized that he'd been sleeping for nearly two hours.

Carefully rolling out of bed, Justin sat up on the edge of it, still trying to clear the cobwebs from his mind. He stood and crossed to bathroom, wondering where everyone was, as the family was all supposed to go out to dinner that night, and was planning to stick around for the couple of hours between the shower and dinner.

Quickly taking care of his business, Justin washed his hands, brushed his teeth to get rid of that after-sleep fuzzy feeling out of his mouth and ran a brush through his hair before setting off to find Brian and the others. He grabbed his cardigan sweater and threw it on as he walked out of the bedroom, closing the door behind him. He headed towards the stairs and then paused as he caught movement by the nursery door.

Pausing, Justin decided to take one last look at his nursery – and God, he _still_ couldn't believe that Brian had done that – before joining the others. Crossing the landing, he walked to the nursery and then paused in front of it, frowning as he caught Lindsay standing there, her phone out and taking pictures?

"What are you doing?" Justin asked, walking into the room, his frown deepening when Lindsay startled and then slid her phone hastily into her pocket.

"I was just looking at the mural," Lindsay said, smoothing her hair back from her face. And that was a gesture he'd always found interesting; when she was talking to Brian, she pushed her hair forward, attempting to appear more vulnerable. But with Justin, she pulled it back to seem more authoritative; not that it worked on him because he was fluent in WASP. "You always were an amazing artist."

Well, that didn't sound bitter at all.

"Am," Justin said, watching her suspiciously, and wondering just what she was up to now. She'd been moody and acting off all day; something that he would usually chalk up to her jealousy issues, but he had a feeling there was more to it than that.

"What?" Lindsay asked, seemingly surprised at Justin's correction.

"Amazing, or not, as that's all subjective; I _am_ an artist," Justin corrected her again, wanting there to be no mistake about it; while Lindsay may have given up on her dreams and aspirations, Justin was artist down to his soul. "And I always will be."

"It must be nice to nice to have that kind of confidence," Lindsay sniffed, her pleasant mask slipping enough to let the bitterness creep out again. And Justin couldn't help but wonder what it was about him that so easily broke through her veneer.

"It has nothing to do with confidence," Justin shrugged; and it was the truth. Sadly, Lindsay judged a true artist as one that was showing and selling his or her work; someone that had made a name for themselves. For Justin it was much simpler than that. "It is simply what I am. I could never sell another painting or a pastel or a sketch again, and I would _still_ be an artist."

Lindsay looked away, but not before Justin caught the sour look on her face. In some ways, he felt sorry for her. She'd had so many dreams when she'd been younger; and she'd been a decent artist in her own right. And while she'd likely never hang on the walls of a museum, she could have made a decent living. But in other ways - most ways actually - he felt no sympathy at all. She'd chosen her path a long time ago, and if she was now unhappy with said path, that was her own fault, not his.

"So, I heard that you have a new protégé," Lindsay said out of the blue, and suddenly the light bulb clicked on; so _that_ was what her problem was. Simon had been telling tales out of school. Oh, goody. He'd hoped that it had chapped his ass when Justin had interfered with his little games. "That must be nice."

"Oh, you mean Louis?" Justin asked, a sly smile on his face. God, he was so going to enjoy this; as Blake had said a couple of weeks ago, this had been a long time coming and Justin was done holding his tongue. "He is a sweet boy; so shy, although you'd never believe it by the way he looks; he has those smoldering, brooding good looks that drive people, men and women alike, wild. Very talented. One of these days people are going to be clamoring for a Chapman original. I couldn't let all that talent go to waste."

"How kind of you," Lindsay said, a tight smile on her face; and Justin couldn't help chuckling at her obvious displeasure.

"But you'd know that wouldn't you?" Justin asked with a diamond sharp smile, enjoying the way she was wriggling on his hook; one that he hadn't even had to bait this time. She's just thrown herself on there. "I'm sure your _friend_ Simon filled you in on all the details; told you about what a find he was and how he couldn't wait to show him the ropes. It must have really pissed you off that I'd foiled your plans yet again."

"I'm not sure I understand what you mean," Lindsay said, her face going instantly blank; but not before Justin saw the brief flash of panic in her eyes. _Bingo_. She was so fucking, pathetically obvious it was sickening.

"Oh, cut the crap, Lindsay," Justin smirked, his voice growing hard as steel as he stared the conniving bitch down. "It's just you and me here; there is no need to save face or pretend that you give one fuck about me. Just like I don't give one fuck for you."

"Of course I care about you," Lindsay simpered, letting her hair fall gracefully around her face; but Justin just laughed at her words and gestures.

Exactly who the fuck did she think she was fooling here? He'd seen the same tactics employed by his mother when she was trying to soften his father up and she'd always be a better WASP than Lindsay could ever hope to be. Lindsay didn't seem to like him laughing at her, her mouth pursing, and eyes flashing as she continued hotly.

"I've _always_ supported you and your art; in fact, I was the one that…"

"Encouraged me to pursue it?" Justin asked lazily; he leaned against the crib and crossed his arms over his chest. "To go to New York to become more than I could here in Pittsburgh; trust me, I never forgot that fact." He paused and looked at her coldly. "Just as I know that it was not nearly so altruistic on your part. You see I _know_."

"Know what?" Lindsay asked, trying to appear nonchalant; but Justin could hear the fine tremor of nerves in her voice. And she should be worried given the knowledge that he held of her past actions. She really shouldn't have kept pushing him.

"Did you know that Simon gets awful chatty when he's drunk?" Justin asked conversationally, smirking when Lindsay blanched.

She silently shook her head; her lips clamped shut as if she were afraid of what might spill out if she didn't keep them tightly sealed.

"Oh yeah," Justin nodded knowingly, his eyes following every twitch and nervous gesture she made. Oh, yeah, she was worried by what Justin knew; he could see it in every fiber of her being. "No filter on that one whatsoever. And he had a _lot_ to say about certain of his activities when he thought he couldn't be overheard by anyone that mattered."

"Did he?" Lindsay asked, swallowing thickly as Justin continued to stare at her coldly.

"Yup," Justin said, the cold rage washing over him once more as he remembered that night about three years prior. "He talks to his friends; laughs about how he has all these people all over the world willing to suck up to him because he got their foot in the door. How they're willing to do _anything_ to make him happy. How he'd just recently gotten a call from a friend in Chicago that had this ' _sweet, young thing of an artist_ ' that he just had to see. That he had an ' _amazing talent_ ' and not just on canvas."

"I'm not sure why I should care…" Lindsay said, looking like she was ready to bolt at any second, so Justin barreled right on, ignoring her words and shutting her down.

"And these assholes, they all stood around, laughing at this poor kid's plight," Justin said, pushing off of the crib and putting himself between the bitch standing in from of him and the door. No way was she getting away with this any longer. "About how he'd soon find himself in the right hands; how Simon needed to 'train' him up to be a proper pet. That they couldn't wait for one of his parties where they'd get the chance to see this newest protégé in action. Chad Zimmerman. He was the first person I mentored."

Justin felt nauseated as he remembered Simon and his cronies, all drinking and smoking and laughing about their past exploits with previous artists; it had taken everything in him to walk away that night and not give into the temptation of beating the cunt senseless. Or to put a hit out on him. It had been utterly disgusting the way he had taken advantage of those who didn't have anyone to look out for them.

Thankfully, despite Lindsay's _best intentions_ , Justin hadn't been in a vulnerable position when he'd left for New York. Brian had seen to that, much to both his gratitude and annoyance, the overprotective bastard.

"It deteriorated from there," Justin sneered, his face scrunching up in distaste. "They got disgustingly ribald with all the acts that they wanted to perform on him; especially after they saw his picture. I was so disgusted, so…horrified at what I'd heard; and yet, I felt justified that I had gotten his mark from the very beginning. In that moment, I was so glad that I ignored all of his overtures when I'd first landed in New York; not that he ever stood a chance. I mean, I had Brian, why the fuck would I ever look at that dickwad?"

Justin circled Lindsay, just as a cartoon shark circled its prey, looking for a way past their defenses so that they could take them down. He was almost there; he could see the veneer cracking with every word he said. It was only a matter of finding the right words and hitting the right mark before it all came crashing down and Lindsay showed her true colors. But for now, he'd play her game.

"It finally got to the point that my friend and I couldn't take it and we were _this close_ to walking away…" Justin said, pinching his thumb and forefinger together to create a half-inch space between them in demonstration.

"I'm still not seeing the point to this," Lindsay said with a haughty frown, looking as if butter wouldn't melt in her mouth.

Yeah, he wasn't buying that either.

"But then, it got real interesting," Justin smirked, ready to get to his point, and enjoying the way Lindsay froze at those words, as if she sensed that he was going to rip her world to pieces. And he was. "He grew bitter and started ranting about his _very_ _good_ _friend_ Lindsay, who, at one time, had been one of his ' _sweet, young things_ ,' and had once brought Justin Taylor, the new hot artist, to his attention."

Lindsay froze, looking like a deer in the headlights as she stared at Justin; she paled dramatically and her breathing grew harsh and uneven. Justin smiled coldly, knowing that he had her just where he wanted her; how he'd ever believed that this bitch had been his friend, that she'd ever cared for anyone but herself, he didn't know; but he did know this, the blinders he'd been wearing had been thoroughly obliterated that night.

"That she had told him that he would be ripe for plucking when he landed in New York because he was currently unhappy with his life and that he would likely bend over backwards if he could just have the right shot, if you know what I mean? After all, he had this thing for older, influential men and he'd be a shoe in for ' _mentoring_.' And I'm pretty sure that you and I know that he wasn't talking about mentoring in the artistic arena."

Justin arched a knowing brow and Lindsay flushed; but again she kept her mouth firmly sealed. He was tempted to ask her if the cat had gotten her tongue, but he was so close to cracking her, that he didn't want to jeopardize it with sarcasm. He could almost feel the hateful words she wanted to spew in his direction.

"So here are me and my friend," Justin continued with a hard smile; Lindsay flinched. "Standing behind this asshole, listening to him as he described what he'd wanted to do to me; and we're not just talking about him. Oh, no; as we've established, he likes to share and was telling his friends all these details about me that he had no way of finding out in our very short acquaintance."

And that's what had pissed him off the most; that apparently Miss Loose Lips, (and he'd heard enough to know that applied in both senses of the words), had been sharing intimate details of his life with someone he didn't know. It didn't matter that he was open with his sexuality and a bit of an exhibitionist; it was for him to decide who got that information and who didn't. And there was no way in hell that he'd ever agree with that prick knowing anything about him or his sex life.

"Talked about how I had an open relationship and how I liked to be the center of threesomes and foursomes and orgies. About how I sucked cock like a dream and fucked like it was going out style; and how he'd been _this close_ to having all that raw sexual and artistic talent in his hands to shape and mold into one of his good little soldiers before he tossed me aside for some new flavor of the month. _But_ , and this was his biggest gripe, he couldn't get close enough to me because of that bastard Kinney."

Lindsay's expression soured at that mention; yeah, that must have pissed her off royally. She likely thought that Brian would be heartbroken and malleable and that he'd let Justin go to live his own life. Granted, Brian almost did do that, but luckily Justin was smart enough to get his ass home long enough to smack some sense into his lover; or really, he fucked some sense into him, which had been even better.

"Which I found interesting because where the fuck could he have learned all this shit about me when I met him a grand total of one time and refused to give him more than a cursory acknowledgement because I thought he was a cunt," Justin said, that cold rage rushing through him once more as he stared at the woman who had sold him out for her own selfish reasons. "But you know how he got that information, don't you?"

"So what if I do?" Lindsay snapped; and Justin had to smirk internally as he known that if he'd just pushed hard enough, she'd break. "It's not like what I told him wasn't true. Hell, you can't walk down the Avenue without still hearing about the past escapades of the King and his Prince. He could have just walked into Babylon and ask about you and those dizzy queens couldn't shut up about you then – the little twink that toppled the King. So, yes, I told him that there would be a ' _sweet, young_ _thing_ ,' coming his way that might need consoling because his dick of a boyfriend was going to dump his ass any day."

"And we know how you accomplished that don't we, Lindsay?" Justin hissed, wishing that he hadn't been raised a gentleman so he could smack her like she so richly deserved. "Manipulating one of your so-called best friends into pushing me off the Kinney Cliff; this _despite_ the fact that I told you at the time that New York wasn't _my_ opportunity of a lifetime. Brian was."

"Oh, please," Lindsay hissed, all timidity gone. "Brian didn't really want all that bullshit; you were just clinging onto to a false hope; he eventually would have snapped out of it and gone back to his old ways. It was only a matter of time. I was just circumventing the meltdown that would come when you realized that he was jerking you around again. At least this way, you would have your ' _dreams_ ' of being a ' _world-renowned painter'_."

"Bitch," Justin spat, years of venom spewing forth; it had been building up inside him for so long that he felt like he was going to choke on it. "I would have had all that anyways; after all, I was eons ahead of you when I was only seventeen."

Lindsay gasped in outrage; but Justin barreled on.

"That really must have rankled. Looking at the raw, untrained talent of a teenager and realizing they were already so much better than you. And then, on top of that, I had the guy too. Instead of running, even when he'd had the chance to do so, he was still finding ways to keep me in his life. And _then_ , after all those years, he finally admitted that he love _me_ , not you; and proposed to _me,_ not you. And you found out he was willing to give me all those things you so desperately craved, but couldn't get him to commit to all those years ago, because, newsflash, he's _gay_."

Lindsay hissed like ineffectual, pampered kitten that she was; honestly, Justin couldn't believe that _she'd_ believed for one minute that she could get one over on him.

"I didn't need Simon like you did," Justin said, smirking when she squawked out her indignation. "I already had the life I wanted; so who the fuck did you think you were, all but pimping my ass out to that disgusting little prick who couldn't get someone to look his way unless they were desperate?"

"Forgive me for thinking you'd be fine with it," Lindsay spat, frothing at the mouth at Justin's words, her eyes flashing as she got into his face. "After all, you and Brian were fucking _anything_ and _everything_ that moved. I knew all about your escapades; I heard the rumors on the Avenue about the King and his Prince and ' _what a duo they made if you could get them to look your way_.' I heard about the orgies and the trips to the baths on ' _date night'_ and about your little games. And as for being passed around, you didn't seem to have a problem with going to one of the Sap's parties to be passed around like a party favor."

Justin felt like he'd been suckered punched by that revelation; not that he showed it, as he'd never give this woman the means to hurt him again. He _did_ have to wonder where she'd heard about it though, as he'd thought that it had died that night; Sap would have never wanted anyone knowing that he'd gotten his ass handed to him by a drugged twink.

"Actually I did mind it," Justin spat, getting back into her face and making her back away in trepidation at whatever she'd seen in his eyes. "That is why, after they drugged my ass, and tried to put me in one of his infamous swings, I fought back and kicked the asshole in the jaw, dislocating it and ran as fast as I could away from there."

Lindsay looked ill at having it spelled out like that; what, had she really thought Justin would just agree to being gang raped like that? Obviously the bitch didn't really know what happened at those parties or she would have kept her nasty mouth shut.

"Oh yeah," Justin said, advancing on her. "He was quite pissed about that; bruised up the entire side of his face. You should count yourself lucky as that's what I typically do to little bitches that try to pimp me out to their friends."

Lindsay paled and took another step back, not so confident anymore. Justin smiled coldly and advanced, fairly spitting with rage.

"What's the matter Lindsay," Justin said in a mocking tone. "Were you just not doing it for him anymore? Were you getting too old and clingy? Did he suddenly lose interest you because the next _'sweet, little, blond thing'_ came-a-calling? And a sweet, little blonde, male thing at that I believe? One that actually had a modicum of success because one of Simon's friends took a liking to him and had gotten him out before Simon had destroyed his chances. That must have stuck in your craw."

Lindsay huffed and looked away from Justin, but didn't deny it; because they were both very well aware of the fact that she couldn't. Once he'd overheard Simon and his lemmings, Justin had done a little research of his own and was shocked by what he'd found. He couldn't help but wonder if Mel was aware of it.

"Yeah, see, I know about that too; about how he's bisexual and likes blondes. About how you met him soon after college and spread your legs for him in the hopes that he would make all your _little artistic dreams come true_. And then, when they didn't, he patted you on the head and set you up with a decent gallery job and said, ' _better luck next time kid_.' Did you really believe that you were anything but a convenient fuck to him; while he used your talent to get ahead and bled you dry through bad contracts?"

Lindsay spluttered, her face turning an unattractive and unhealthy shade of red.

"Hate to tell you sweetcakes," Justin said, not even giving her a chance to respond; and then he paused and cocked his head. "Actually, no, I'm going to enjoy _every single second_ of this because it is nothing more than what you deserve for selling me out to an over-the-hill wannabe Lothario. _You_ were nothing more than a notch in his belt and a way for him to find ' _new inspiration'_ among the arts."

Lindsay inhaled sharply, her lower lip quivering, but Justin wasn't buying what she was selling; it was WASP 101. Another one of those ' _if you appear weak and helpless, then you will get your way_ ' tactics that he so loathed.

"Tell me, Lindsay," Justin looked at her sharply, wondering if she'd actually answer, or if she'd play it off. "Was I special? Or was I just one of the many that you sent his way because you thought that you were actually friends?" Lindsay pressed her lips together and refused to answer; just as he suspected. "Newsflash bitch – he was using you then; and he's using you now. And you just keep on bending over and taking it like the cunty, little bitch that you are."

Lindsay gave another little outraged gasp; Justin just shook his head. Was she really surprised by his low opinion of her? Or was this just another part of her game?

"I'll bet you hated it, didn't it?" Justin drawled, flashing a smug smile her way; just knowing it would irritate her. "It must have pissed you off when your plans for me fell to the wayside; that I didn't become I mindless little drone like you did, despite your _best_ efforts. That you had to sit back and see me rise when your star fell. You'd hoped that I would fail too; because then you could live with yourself and tell yourself that it wasn't your fault for getting mixed up with the wrong sort. It was just the way the game was played."

Justin paused, letting that little tidbit sink in; and judging by Lindsay's sour expression he had hit the nail on the head. And she didn't look happy about it at all.

"But here is the difference between us, Lindsay," he said, smirking when she huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. "I _work_ to get what I want; I don't just rollover onto my back, spread legs and expect the person that's fucking me to hand it to me on a silver platter. That usually only gets you screwed in the end; and not in the fun life-affirming way either."

Lindsay looked away, clenching and unclenching her hands as her lips began to tremble and her eyes filled up with tears. It was a command performance; and might have made him feel a shred of remorse if he hadn't already been privy to the act five years ago when Brian had taken Lindsay to court to get his rights reinstated.

"Oh, tears," Justin mock lamented. "I suppose you think that I'll be moved by them?" Justin rolled his eyes as Lindsay took a shuddery breath. "Yeah, sorry; not going to happen; I've seen this routine before. I remember it very well – the big, crocodile tears that poured out of your eyes as you brokenly told the judge how worried you were that Gus was going to pick up on his father's bad habits; and as much as it hurt you to take him away from his father, you felt that it was for the best."

Lindsay hissed; and there she was – the nasty, entitled little viper that thought she could actually get away with her actions. Seriously, sometimes he had to stop and wonder if he'd ever met a more delusional person in his life; and then he remembered Michael and knew that as bad as Lindsay was, Michael was worse.

"Good thing the judge saw right through that act too; and saw you for the money-grubbing bitch that you were. You seem to forget, you aren't as good of an actress as you think you are. You wear your emotions in your eyes. It's the one place you can't lie. And boy did she ever call your bluff, pointing out that if he didn't have rights to his son, then he shouldn't have to support him. That's not true you know. The law usually favors the child. Many a man has gotten screwed over and been forced to pay child support even when he didn't know about the kid; even if the mother tricked him into getting her pregnant. But she was testing you and you caved like a house of cards under a stiff wind. Bet that fucked up your world order, didn't it?"

Justin snorted when Lindsay just growled at him; what, did she think that was going to intimidate him. Please, he'd seen better bites on Chihuahua. He just shook his head in disgust, his anger abating as he realized that she would never get it.

"You're just lucky that I took the high road and never told Brian the lengths you went through to separate us; because if I had, that little courtroom drama would be a cake walk compared to what he did. And well you know it. The only reason you're still even a part of our lives is because of Gus. If not for him, I would have happily booted your flat, skanky ass to the curb. And before you get all high and mighty, and say that Brian wouldn't allow that to happen, do remember all the shit you put him through with the custody battle. He was done with you then; you just don't realize it yet."

Justin crossed his arms over his chest and arched a brow, wondering what pearls of wisdom, or more likely venom, she would drip now; but Lindsay remained suspiciously silent. And Justin didn't think for one minute that she was ready to back down; but this time, when she did pull her usual shit, the gloves were off.

"I do have to wonder Lindsay," Justin said thoughtfully, a cold smile returning to his lips. "All those times you went out of town on business... how many of those times were you at one of Simon's little artist debuts?" Lindsay twitched, and Justin knew he'd hit a sore spot. "And would you have come to mine had he been successful?"

They stared at each other for a long moment, Lindsay practically choking on her anger, envy rising from every pore in a palpable wave. Justin was just disgusted by the person in front of him; someone he'd once trusted and loved, who'd turned out to be worst sort of self-entitled, rapacious, repugnant asshole possible.

"Now," Justin said, pointing towards the hallway. "Do us all a favor and get the fuck out of my house. I don't care what you have to do or say; pretend you're sick or have actually found a conscience somewhere, but get the fuck out and stay out of my way. You do not want to take me on, bitch."


	87. March 22 (Part Five)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay on this; but when it rains, it pours. I'll be honest; I ended up having a minor allergic reaction to something, and between the itching, which was exacerbated by the heat wave we're having, and the lingering grogginess from the Benedryl I've been taking, I just haven't been in the mood to write.
> 
> However, I do want to say on that last chapter – wow; I was expecting a reaction to it, but not quite the reaction I got. Thank you. I enjoyed each and every review and reading them really made my day despite how miserable I felt. It certainly made agonizing over that chapter, and worrying that I was taking Justin's verbal bitch slap a little too far, worth it. Now, onto the next part; bear with me as this day isn't over yet. I'm about to make some, if not all, of you very happy. ;)

**March 22 – (Part Five)**

Brian leaned back in his chair in the media room, watching as Jenny, Gus, Tucker, Liam and Carl played Scattergories; smirking when his Sonny Boy seemed to be in the lead despite playing against three adults, and one of them a teacher at that. _That was his boy_. Those Kinney genes were shining bright tonight. Well, _his_ genes were; he'd rather die than give his father any of the credit for the wonder that was Gus. That was all on _him_.

And maybe Mel had helped just a little.

Sipping his Beam, he glanced around and arched a brow as he caught sight of half of the Luscious Ladies – Deb, Mother Taylor, Lucille and Mel – huddled together with Daphne and Yasmeen chatting away about the shower and the various gifts that had been given and the ones that hadn't on the registry. That was worrying. He had a bad feeling that he was soon going to have a bunch of nosy, nesting women trying to help _again_ if he didn't nip that in the bud right the fuck now.

Glaring at them, he briefly debated on going over and breaking up the hen fest now; and then decided against it. He'd just sic Justin on them. If there was anyone that could get his point across with nothing more than a few pointed words and a frown, it was Justin. As it was, he'd already had to listen to Deb and Mother Taylor bitch about him changing the nursery from their design to the current configuration.

Thankfully, his Sonny Boy had looked at them incredulously and asked them how would _they_ like it if _he_ were to go into their bedrooms and completely rearrange them to suit his likes and dislikes. And then pointed out it was Justin's nursery and that he should fix it up the way he wanted it, not the way they wanted it. Brian had barely held back a chuckle at Mother Taylor's abashed look and Deb's indignant frown.

Skipping over them, he landed on Ted, who looked like he was trying not to fall asleep as he idly flipped through a magazine; every now and then, he'd glance up at the door, waiting for Blake to come back from feeding Luc, and then he'd go back to his magazine, fighting off a yawn as he did so. Brian had to look away before he too fell victim to the same lethargy that Ted was feeling; he was almost tempted to run up to his bedroom and curl up next to Justin; and would if he didn't have a feeling that Justin would be up soon.

It had been a couple of hours since Justin had laid down and he was just glad that the vast majority of people had left. In fact, the only ones left were 'family' and that was only because Justin had made plans for a family dinner after the shower as he didn't want to deal with the clean up crew breaking everything down. If it had been up to Brian, he would have likely kicked everyone out, warmed up some leftovers from the shower for dinner and then made an early night of it.

"You aren't falling asleep on us, are you?" Mother Taylor said, smiling indulgently. "We can all leave and have dinner another time. I'm sure you and Justin are tired."

"No I'm fine; plus, Justin is looking forward to dinner," Brian huffed, smirking when another groan erupted from those playing the game, followed by Gus' triumphant hoot. "I am so fucking glad that this is all over; if I had to deal with another queen out over the food, or the favors, or the decorations, I might have packed my bags and moved to the other side of the country."

"Was Justin really that bad?" Mother Taylor asked with a frown. "I thought that he was supposed to be taking a backseat in the planning?"

"Who said anything about Justin?" Brian snorted, taking another sip of his Beam "It was Emmett that I was talking about. I swear, it seemed like he was having a meltdown every other day."

"I was not that bad, fuck you very much," Emmett huffed as he entered the media room, cringing and flashing an apologetic smile at Mother Taylor when she glared at him reprovingly before looking pointedly at Gus and Jenny.

"Emmett, you called me in tears one day because they'd sent you the wrong fucking napkins," Brian said, rolling his eyes when Emmett grumbled and flopped onto the couch. "Easily four _weeks_ before the party."

"I was just having an emotional day," Emmett pouted, much to everyone's amusement.

"Is that what they're calling it these days?" Brian deadpanned, ducking when a pillow came sailing his way. "Because I still call a spade a spade; it was a fucking queen out and you know it."

"I just wanted everything to be perfect for Baby," Emmett huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "He was already stressed out about everything, and I just wanted this one day to be everything he wanted."

"And it was," Mother Taylor reassured him, patting him on the arm as she sent Brian an admonishing look; Emmett smiled at her and the turned and stuck his tongue out at Brian. "I've never seen him happier."

"Yeah, at my expense," Brian muttered, but it had little heat to it; something that Mother Taylor knew well as she huffed and sent him an exasperated look.

"Oh, hush you," she said, shaking her head. "Like you didn't tell Emmett to contact you for any problems for this exact purpose."

"Exactly," Emmett sniffed, looking quite pleased with himself. "Don't think we aren't well aware that you would've gone through ten times worse for your Sunshine. As Baby always says, ' _we're on to you_.'"

"Great," Brian groused, even as he was fighting back a smile; they really did have him pegged. "Go and completely ruin my asshole image, why don't you?"

"Honey, you did that the day you put a ring on it," Mel chimed in, laughing when Brian just turned to her in mock horror.

"Not you too, Smelly Melly," Brian lamented; and who would have thought that they'd ever be civil with each other. Let alone friendly. "You're supposed to hold out against the crowd and call me an asshole. Come on, you know you want to."

"Too much work," Mel said with a languid wave of her hand; snickering when Brian squawked with mock outrage. "I have better things to do with my time."

"Is nothing sacred anymore?" Brian lamented, sighing theatrically.

"No!" came several voices from around him, although he only registered Mel, Em, Daphne, Liam, Ted, and Yasmeen's voices as they were closest to him.

"Fucking Twat," Brian complained, much to the amusement of everyone; all of whom didn't believe his words for one red second. "I knew this would happen..."

Brian cut off when the TV screen flickered to life in front of him; surprised, he'd turned towards it and watched as Lindsay came onto the screen, staring at the nursery with a sour expression on her face. Frowning, he watched as she spun around in a circle and took out her phone and began taking pictures. What the hell was she doing?

He looked over at the others, but they seemed equally surprised to see her in there; or maybe just to see that he was still recording. But he'd left the camera up and running because he'd wanted to capture people's reactions to the nursery, especially that of the mural, so that Justin could view them later. He'd actually meant to turn the camera off the last time he went up to the room to check on Justin, but had gotten distracted by his dad gift once more and it had slipped his mind.

Turning away, he braced himself to get up, but halted when Justin walked into the room, frowning and asking Lindsay what she was doing, only to receive a saccharine and meaningless answer, followed by a veiled insult that had even Gus and Jenny snorting. Sitting back down, he watched the two of them, immediately on edge, although he could place just why as they seemed to be exchanging barbed but mostly meaningless commentary on being an artist; nothing that Justin couldn't easily handle.

But maybe that was what had him on alert; Justin was far too tense for something that would usually roll right off his back, and leave him feeling amused as he bested Lindsay in a battle of words yet again.

_"It has nothing to do with confidence," Justin shrugged; he cocked his head, vaguely amused. "It is simply what I am. I could never sell another painting or a pastel or a sketch again, and I would still be an artist."_

Brian smirked; he couldn't have put it better himself, and understood where Justin was going with those words. Lindsay focused far too much on commercial success and the visibility of an artist; using those as benchmarks of their success. Something that Justin had in spades. But for Justin, interest in his work could shift,  or a new style of art could start trending, and he might never find commercial success again, but he'd still be an artist, he'd still create.

It was what he was born to do; and nothing could ever deter him.

Lindsay didn't seem to like that answer, though; evident by the fleeting malevolent sneer that flashed across her face before she turned away. And that look concerned Brian; he'd long known that Lindsay had been jealous of Justin - both for his raw talent early on, and his later success in an industry that had cast her aside. Not just as an artist, but even as an art expert in general after the whole Auerbach fiasco. That little affair hadn't just nearly ended her marriage; it had also made her the laughingstock of the art world. It was only sheer luck, and a lot of favor calling, that had seen her into her current position.

"What in Sam's hell is she…" Deb asked, frowning at the screen.

But Brian held up a hand because he wanted to see what happened next; especially when they started talking about Justin's new protégé. As far as he'd been aware, Justin hadn't announced anything to the family about Louis. He supposed Lindsay might have heard about it from one of her contacts, limited as they may be at this time; but there was something in Justin's expression as she asked about Louis that had Brian sitting on the edge of his seat, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

There was this sly, almost smug smile on his face as he waxed poetic over Louis; but what disturbed Brian most  was, it wasn't his art that Justin was raving about, which was that complete opposite from when Justin had met Louis a few days before. He seemed oddly fixated on Louis' physical traits; and had Brian been an insecure man, he would really start to wonder just what attracted Justin to his newest protégé.

And then suddenly it became all too horrifically clear in that way where all the pieces of a puzzle just suddenly fall into place when you're handed that one last clue. A cold icy feeling seeped into the pit of his stomach and spread throughout his body as he watched Justin turn to Lindsay with a diamond-sharp smile.

_"But you'd know that wouldn't you?" he said, looking very much like the cat that had caught the canary. "I'm sure your_ _**friend** _ _Simon filled you in on all the details; told you about what a find he was and how he couldn't wait to show him the ropes. It must have really pissed you off that I'd foiled your plans again."_

That icy feeling grew exponentially as Brian stared at the screen in utter disbelief, chilling him down to the bone as things Justin had said over the years came back to haunt him. All those little snide asides whenever Simon was mentioned, the sarcasm that dripped from his words whenever he thanked Lindsay for all her help, and the way he could barely tolerate being in the same building as either of them, let alone a room. It was a smack to the face and he couldn't believe that he hadn't seen it himself until now.

"Did he just accuse Lindsay of…" Emmett asked looking over at a still stunned Brian; who just shook his head in disbelief.

"That's what it sounded like to me," Ted said with a calmness that had Brian glancing at him sharply; and he couldn't help noticing that of everyone there, he didn't seemed all that surprised at Justin's accusations.

Brian inhaled sharply, pain stabbing into him like a knife to the gut at the implications – not only Justin's words, but the lack of reaction in Ted. He knew that Justin and Blake were close. Almost as close as he and Mikey were when there were teens, and as close as he and Emmett were now; and that Ted might know something that he hadn't…Brian shunted that aside because he couldn't deal with it now.

"Carl…" Brian said between grit teeth, watching as Lindsay tried to play dumb; but he knew her too well to fall for it; just as his husband wasn't falling for it.

"On it," Carl said, instantly alert and swiftly getting up from his chair and gathering up both a far-too-interested Gus and confused Jenny. "Let's go kiddos."

"But, Dad…" Gus protested, obviously not wanting to miss whatever drama that he sensed brewing; but Brian didn't want either of his kids here if he was indeed right and it deteriorated into an ugly scene.

"Now, Sonny Boy," Brian stated firmly, cutting off any further protests with a sharp, ' _I mean it_ ' look, one that had Gus instantly capitulating; he knew better than to argue with Brian when he saw that look.

Carl quickly herded the kids up the stairs and away from the escalating scene; or really, what Brian sensed would become a quickly escalating scene; and not a moment too soon.

_"Of course I care about you," Lindsay simpered, shaking her hair forward; an action that made Justin laugh. "I've always supported you and your art; in fact, I was the one that…"_

Brian didn't blame him either; Justin had explained that maneuver to him once, pointing out how manipulative it really was when Brian thought he was crazy. It wasn't until Brian had divorced himself from a situation and watched Lindsay in action with others that he'd truly gotten it. And then, he'd been annoyed, because usually he was a great judge of character; but for some reason he'd always been blinded by Lindsay and Mikey.

Justin once called it willful blindness; because, if Brian had actually seen them for who they really were, he would have to admit they really weren't that great of a friend. And he'd needed their support far too much at the time to question their intentions. And, as much as Brian had hated hearing it, he also had to admit that Justin had been onto something.

_"Encouraged me to pursue it?" Justin asked lazily; he leaned against the crib and crossed his arms over his chest. "To go to New York to become more than I could here in Pittsburgh; trust me, I never forgot that fact." He paused and looked at her coldly. "Just as I know that it was not nearly so altruistic on your part. You see I_ _**know** _ _."_

"Oh, please tell me this isn't going where I think it's going," Emmett moaned, staring at the TV screen in disbelief.

"Fuck me," Tucker breathed, his eyes going wide. "Christ, I remember that guy; he was practically eating Justin alive at the art show. And I'd always felt something was off in that exchange between Lindsay, Simon and Justin. Because don't get me wrong, Justin is very talented; but it always seemed odd to me that someone of Simon's stature came to the show out of the blue like that."

Brian grunted in agreement, his eyes still riveted on his husband and supposed friend; his lips compressed as he noted that Lindsay's voice and hands began to shake despite her attempt at nonchalance, especially when Justin mentioned how chatty Simon got whenever he was drunk.

"And you didn't say anything than?" Mother Taylor asked incredulously, her eyes on fire and hands tightly clenched as she stared at Lindsay.

"What was there to say?" Tucker sighed, pushing his hair out of the way. "All I had was a weird feeling; a vibe that Justin himself picked up on based on his interactions with the guy. And then Justin came over and distracted me by asking questions about our relationship; I forgot about it."

"Will you assholes shut up?" Brian hissed, only cringing a bit when Mother Taylor's disapproving look swung his way; he opened his mouth to make nice, but movement from the corner of his caught his attention as Mel moved to get up, her face set into a hard mask. But again, she didn't look overly surprised by the unfolding drama; Christ did _everyone_ but him know. "And you; sit the fuck down."

Mel glared at him, but complied; no one was going to interrupt, potentially forcing Lindsay to clam up before he could figure out what the hell was happening.

_"…he had a lot to say about certain of his activities when he thought he couldn't be overheard by anyone that mattered." Justin stared at Lindsay coldly, his eyes shooting lasers as they bore into her, seeking out any weakness he could find._

Brian sucked in another breath, his stomach clenching at the rage in those flashing blue eyes; and he couldn't help feeling sick to his stomach as the words just kept coming, spilling from Justin's lips in a torrent as he pushed off the crib and circled Lindsay, preventing the escape that even Brian could see was written all over her face.

Justin himself looked ill as he confessed to the conversation that he overheard in regards to his first protégé. The way those men had spoken of a human being as nothing more than a pet, a dog to be trained and awarded with a show or a contract so long as he played into whatever sick game Simon and his minions held. And while he'd heard rumors, he hadn't known it was this bad or that widespread.

But Justin had; and suddenly his husband's disdain for Simon made so much sense.

Fuck. Fuck, fuck, _fuck_. How the fuck hadn't he known about this?

_"It deteriorated from there," Justin sneered, his face scrunching up in distaste. "They got disgustingly ribald with all the acts that they wanted to perform on him; especially after they saw his picture. I was so disgusted, so…horrified at what I'd heard; and yet, I felt justified that I had gotten his mark from the very beginning. In that moment, I was so glad that I ignored all of his overtures when I'd first landed in New York; not that he ever stood a chance. I mean, I had Brian, why the fuck would I ever look at that dickwad?"_

Brian smirked; he couldn't help it. It always made him feel good when Justin let the world know that he still found him hot all these years later. And then he frowned as Justin circled Lindsay, a shark-like grin on his face; verbally poking and jabbing at her to get a reaction, to get her to break her WASPy mask.

And from what Brian could see, he was making a good dent in it, even if the others couldn't tell; especially when he hit her with his true point.

_"But then, it got real interesting," Justin smirked; Lindsay stilled at those words. "He grew bitter and started ranting about his very good friend Lindsay, who at one time had been one of his '_ _**sweet, young things** _ _,' and had once brought Justin Taylor, the new hot artist, to his attention."_

"Oh no she didn't," Yasmeen burst out, speaking for the first time since the live feed had started; her eyes narrowed and she looked like she was contemplating how many pieces that she could chop Lindsay's body into before feeding them to the fishes.

"Fucking, bitch," Daphne spat, shooting off of her chair and heading for the door "I'm going to pull every single strand of hair out of her skanky ass head. No one fucks with my Justy and gets away with it."

"Liam," Lucille said, shooting him a look that Liam correctly interpreted as ' _grab your wife before she's arrested for assault_.'

"Let me go," Daphne hissed, kicking out with her feet as Liam pulled her down with him, wrapping her tightly in his arms. "I swear to God, if you don't release me and let me tear that skanky bitch a new…"

"Oh, no you don't, young lady," Lucille commanded, the icy anger in her voice garnering Daphne's immediate attention. "You will sit there and let her hang herself…"

As for Brian, he sat there dumbfounded. It was one thing to suspect it and another thing to have it spelled out in words; fucking, Lindsay. If he wasn't riveted to his seat by pure shock at Justin's words, he'd be up there giving her a much needed beat down, female or not. No one fucked with his husband.

_"Talked about how I had an open relationship and how I liked to be the center of threesomes and foursomes and orgies. About how I sucked cock like a dream and fucked like it was going out style; and how he'd been this close to having all that raw sexual and artistic talent in his hands to shape and mold into one of his good little soldiers before he tossed me aside for some new flavor of the month. But, and this was his biggest gripe, he couldn't get close enough to me because of that bastard Kinney."_

Jesus Fucking Christ; and just when he thought it couldn't get worse. Brian felt as if he'd been sucker punched, _and_ had the rug pulled out from under him, all at the same time. Hearing all that from Justin's own mouth and knowing that his husband had never said a word…Brian didn't know how to feel. Part of him was absolutely incandescent with rage at Lindsay's actions, at the betrayal of his trust; and yet another part was deeply hurt that Justin had never confided in him; he couldn't have possibly thought that Brian would side with Lindsay if he had, could he?

_"But you know how he got that information, don't you?" Justin demanded, his eyes little, blue ice chips as they bore into Lindsay._

_"So what if I do?" Lindsay snapped. "It's not like what I told him wasn't true. Hell, you can't walk down the Avenue without still hearing about the past escapades of the King and his Prince. He could have just walked into Babylon and asked about you and those dizzy queens couldn't shut up about you then – the little twink that toppled the King. So, yes, I told him that there would be a ' **sweet, young thing** ,' coming his way that might need consoling because his dick of a boyfriend was going to dump his ass any day."_

And there it was; an actual confession; Brian stared numbly at the screen, absolutely stunned by the malice in Lindsay's eyes as she stared at Justin. He blindly looked around at the room, not exactly deaf to the outraged reactions of his family, but they seemed to come from far away, like he was walking into a long, hollow tunnel. Dropping his head into his hands, he barely felt the arms that wrapped around him as his mind whirled at the implications of Lindsay's words.

It wasn't that he'd doubted Justin's words when he started talking; he knew his husband well. He would never make an accusation like this if he wasn't damned certain of the facts. But to actually hear the confirmation out of Lindsay's own mouth, shattered something inside him. He would have never in a million years have suspected her of…but then again, why was he so surprised?

Lindsay certainly hadn't made it a secret that she wanted Justin to stay in New York; hell she'd tried to manipulate him into forcing Justin do just that, using Gus as a weapon. Only she hadn't counted on him fighting back. Unbeknownst to her, Brian had been keeping track of the amount of support he'd sent over the years, not to mention Lindsay's less than stellar activities and spending habits. So, when she made a veiled threat at keeping him away from Gus, he'd slapped her with a custody suit so fast, she hadn't had the time to mount a proper defense.

Brian looked up, and met Mother Taylor's eyes, a weird amalgamation of fury and compassion swimming in them; thankfully, he knew her well enough these days to know that the fury wasn't directed at him. They both turned back to the screen in time for Justin to practically spit in Lindsay's face.

_"Bitch," Justin spat, revulsion etched onto his face. "I would have had all that anyways; after all, I was eons ahead of you when I was only seventeen."_

"You tell her, Justy!" Daphne yelled at the screen, snorting with laughter Lindsay gasped in outrage at Justin's words.

Brian managed to crack a small smile himself, especially when Justin just barreled on without letting Lindsay getting a word in edgewise, verbally poking and prodding at her ego while she stood still as a statue, fuming at every word. Her typically pretty face was twisted into an ugly snarl as Justin laid into her, forcefully reminding her of things that Brian had, himself, told her not that long ago – that no matter what delusional, little fairytale that she'd built up into her head, Brian was never going to want her because he was fucking **GAY**!

_"I didn't need Simon like you did," Justin smirked; and Lindsay squawked in indignation. "I already had the life I wanted; so who the fuck did you think you were, all but pimping my ass out to that disgusting little prick who couldn't get someone to look his way unless they were desperate?"_

_"Forgive me for thinking you'd be fine with it," Lindsay spat, all but frothing at the mouth, her eyes flashing as she got into Justin's face. "After all, you and Brian were fucking_ _**anything** _ _and_ _**everything** _ _that moved. I knew all about your escapades; I heard the rumors on the Avenue about the King and his Prince and '_ _**what a duo they made if you could get them to look your way** _ _.' I heard about the orgies and the trips to the baths on '_ _**date night** _ _' and about your little games. And as for being passed around, you didn't seem to have a problem with going to one of the Sap's parties to be passed around like a party favor."_

_"Actually I did mind it," Justin spat, pushing back and getting into Lindsay's face this time; she scuttled away, her eyes wide with fear at the pure, unadulterated loathing in Justin's. "That is why, after they drugged my ass, and tried to put me in one of his infamous swings, I fought back and kicked the asshole in the jaw, dislocating it and ran as fast as I could away from there."_

_Lindsay went green around the gills at having it spelled out; her hand flying to her stomach as if she were holding back the urge to puke._

_"Oh, yeah." Justin advanced on her. "He was quite pissed about that; bruised up the entire side of his face. You should count yourself lucky as that's what I typically do to little bitches that try to pimp me out to their friends."_

Brian felt like he'd been suckered punched by that revelation; he'd known despite all of Justin's protestations that something had happened that night at Sap's. It had all been there in his eyes when Brian came in the next morning; no matter how hard Justin had tried to deny and hide it. And when they'd made love, and he'd rolled Brian over to top without asking, or even saying a word, Brian had halted to study Justin; and then capitulated, because he knew that Justin needed it in that moment to purge whatever demons that had been lurking in his haunted eyes that morning.

But to hear it spelled out so bluntly by Justin, to know exactly what had happened that night at the party, to know that Brian had let that asshole go with nothing more than a warning and a busted lip when Sap had tried to… Brian sucked in another sharp breath, his heart hardening; Sap was so fucking lucky that he was currently in jail due his tax evasion issues, because if he had been anywhere that Brian could easily get his hands on him, he'd be in a coffin by the end of the day.

Brian swallowed thickly, completely overwhelmed by this new information, and drowning in his thoughts, so that Justin's words were nothing more than murmurs in his ears as systematically took Lindsay down; he vaguely registered Justin hitting all her weak spots – her age, her beauty, her artistic talent, her desirability. But he was far too wrapped up in his head to for them to really leave an impression.

It wasn't until Lindsay made another outraged gasp that he was pulled from his thoughts and he was able to focus on the continuing showdown between Justin and Lindsay.

_"I'll bet you hated it, didn't you?" Justin drawled and flashed a smug smile. "It must have pissed you off when your plans for me fell to the wayside; that I didn't become I mindless little drone like you did, despite your_ _**best efforts** _ _. That you had to sit back and see me rise when your star fell. You'd hoped that I would fail too; because then you could live with yourself and tell yourself that it wasn't your fault for getting mixed up with the wrong sort. It was just the way the game was played."_

_Justin paused, obviously waiting for a reaction, and he didn't have long to wait judging by the sour expression on Lindsay's face._

_"But here is the difference between us, Lindsay," Justin smirked. "I_ _**work** _ _to get what I want; I don't just rollover onto my back, spread legs and expect the person that's fucking me to hand it to me on a silver platter. That usually only gets you screwed in the end; and not in the fun life-affirming way either."_

Lindsay looked away from Justin, clenching and unclenching her hands as her lips began to tremble and her eyes filled up with tears. It was a command performance; but Brian knew better. Those weren't tears of remorse; they were tears of rage. She didn't care that she'd sold the love of Brian's life out like he was nothing more than a two-bit whore to her friend. No, she was pissed that she'd gotten caught and couldn't talk her way out of it.

He had to wonder what her excuse would have been had he'd only had Justin's word for it and he hadn't seen this little smackdown with his own eyes. Would she have tried to convince Brian that it wasn't nearly as bad as Justin was making it out to be? That she was completely unaware of what Simon had been up to all these years? That Simon had only said those things in order to ruin her reputation and relationship with Justin because he was upset that she wouldn't give him the time of day? That it was a blackmail attempt by Simon because she refused to play his sick games?

He supposed he'd never know; because no matter what excuse she used now, it would fall flat. Actions speak louder than words. And even if she'd never actually confessed to her misdeeds, and had they never been preserved on camera, every antagonistic line in her body spoke of her absolute hatred and jealousy of Justin.

All he had to do is think back to all the times she'd manipulated him over the years; all the times she'd tried to split them up using sweetness instead of rancor; all the snide little comments she made about Justin when Brian was traveling between New York and Pittsburgh; and the envy boiling just under the surface when Brian had moved to New York to be with Justin and establish the New York satellite that last year; and saw the truth. Lindsay had never been a true friend to them and only been in it for herself.

He flicked his eyes back up at the screen in time for Justin to give his parting shots, and ached at the knowledge that this woman was not who he thought she was.

_"I do have to wonder, Lindsay." Justin smiled coldly. "All those times you went out of town on business, how many of those times were you at one of Simon's little artist debuts?" Lindsay flinched as if Justin had hit a sore spot. "And would you have come to mine had he been successful?"_

_They stared at each other for a long moment. Lindsay was practically choking on her anger, envy rising from every pore in a palpable wave. Justin just looked on, a disgusted moue on his face before he raised his hand and pointed to the hallway._

_"Now, do us all a favor and get the fuck out of my house. I don't care what you have to do or say; pretend you're sick, or that you actually have found a conscience somewhere, but get the fuck out and stay out of my way. You do not want to take me on, bitch."_

Brian exhaled explosively, unaware that he'd even been holding his breath, as Lindsay stared malevolently at Justin and looked like she were about to do or say something before she huffed and turned on her heel. Justin deflated, looking tired and stressed as he stared around the room, all his righteous anger gone now that Lindsay had left the room. He rested a hand on his belly and leaned up against the wall, trying to get back his breath and then he stole one last look at the nursery, pasted a happy smile on his face and then walked out.

And that stung; because he knew exactly what Justin was doing – he was preparing himself to face Brian and the others so that they didn't know that anything was wrong. And he knew in that moment, that Justin likely had no intentions of telling him about this latest fiasco with Lindsay and that left him torn. He was incandescently angry with Lindsay and her continued attacks on Justin, and yes, he was even angry that Justin had never told him of this betrayal years ago; but he was also hurt that Justin still didn't trust him with the information.

Tearing his eyes away from the screen as it once again went dark; he faced the silent room, everyone present still in various degrees of shock, and utterly speechless, as they exchanged looks with each other. That is, until they heard the tread of footsteps on the stairs and then each and every one of them – Daphne, Liam, Mel, Emmett, Yasmeen, Lucille, Deb, Mother Taylor, Tucker and Ted stiffened and turned towards the door with blank expressions on their faces.

And then that indifference morphed into rage as Lindsay walked through the door; greeting them all with a cheery wave. Brian turned his head slowly and glared at his former friend, because like hell would he consider her anything, but a stranger. Lindsay paused, her hand clutching nervously at her stomach as she scanned the room and noted all the hostile looks focused on her.

"Uh, what's going on?" Lindsay asked nervously; and that was a huge mistake on her part, as it broke whatever spell that had suspended them and sent Justin's, and his, favorite fag hag into an incandescent rage.

"I'm gonna kill me a bitch!" Daphne hissed as she wrenched herself out of Liam's arms.

She scrambled to her feet with Liam not that far behind her and stalked towards Lindsay, her hands raised in front of her like she was going to tear her eyes out. In the back of his mind, Brian realized that he should probably get up and stop her, but he was afraid that if he got up out of his chair, he might just be tempted to kill the bitch himself.

Sadly, Liam managed to catch Daphne before she could do much more than rake one set of sharp nails across Lindsay's face. He wrapped his arms around her waist and yanked her away from Lindsay, grunting when she lashed out at him in her attempt to escape and eviscerate Lindsay, who had pressed herself up against the wall and stared at a hissing and growling Daphne with wide eyes.

"Let me go, Liam; or you're going to be sleeping on the couch!" Daphne hissed, lunging at Lindsay again, but once again Liam managed to pull her away before Daphne managed more than a solid kick to Lindsay's shin

"Better that I sleep on the couch, than you sleeping in jail," Liam huffed, struggling to keep his arms around her; he began wrangling her towards the door, but not before Daphne got one last lunge in and spat in her face.

Lindsay flinched back into the wall, banging her head against it as spittle flew across her eyes, nose and mouth; she screwed her face up in disgust as she wiped at it with her sleeve, her expression murderous as she stared at Daphne. But Daphne just lobbed one back at her as Liam finally got a good grip on her, tossed her over his shoulder and walked out of the room and up the stairs, Daphne cursing a blue streak the entire way.

Taken aback at the greeting, Lindsay turned to everyone else, blanching when she noticed that they were all still staring at her with varying degrees of anger and disgust; especially when Mother Taylor had to be held back by Tucker, who was whispering frantically in her ear, likely trying to talk her down.

Brian, for his part, just stared back at Lindsay, trying to find any trace of the friend he once knew, and figure out where to go from here.

"What the fuck was that all about?" Lindsay huffed, scrubbing her sleeve over her face once more as she started to walk towards them, only to freeze when Yasmeen hissed and cracked her knuckles.

Brian smirked, his eyes cold as they looked at Lindsay; and then, instead of answering, he slowly stood up and stalked over to his laptop, which was resting on a small table by the TV. He leaned over and navigated to the desk top and double clicked on a file named Nursery Feed. Pulling up the video file, he waited until Windows Media Player popped up with the thirty-minute long video and the pulled the scroll to a random point within the last five minutes or so of the video, before letting go.

He stood back up and crossed his arms over his chest as a still of Lindsay and Justin flickered onto the screen, his lips set into a tight smile as it loaded. But that was enough to make Lindsay turn white as a ghost, her eyes wide as they stared at the picture. And then she began to shake as the video started, and Justin spoke.

_"That she had told him that he would be ripe for plucking when he landed in New York because he was currently unhappy with his life and that he would likely bend over backwards if he could just have the right shot, if you know what I mean? After all, he had this thing for older, influential men and he'd be a shoe in for '_ _**mentoring** _ _.' And I'm pretty sure that you and I know that he wasn't talking about mentoring in the artistic arena."_

_Justin arched a knowing brow; Lindsay flushed, but kept her mouth firmly shut._

_"So here are me and my friend," Justin continued with a hard smile; Lindsay flinched. "Standing behind this asshole, listening to him as he described what he'd wanted to do to me; and we're not just talking about him. Oh, no; as we've established, he likes to share and was telling his friends all these details about me that he had no way of finding out in our very short acquaintance."_

Brian reached back down and paused the video, his hands clenching and unclenching as he tried to rein in his temper after hearing those words again. He faced Lindsay and arched a brow, snorting in disbelief as Lindsay scrambled towards him only to freeze when Yasmeen hissed and Mel growled at her.

"Brian…" Lindsay simpered, her hair falling gracefully around her face, her eyes and words pleading with him. "It's not the way he made it sound."

Brian just stared back stonily, completely unmoved by her performance; although, a part of him wanted to sarcastically applaud her efforts. But he remained motionless; mostly because it would only encourage her, but also because he'd been he'd withstood the manipulations of far better WASPs than she could ever hope to be.

"I mean yes, I knew Simon," Lindsay amended when she noticed that her first attempt had made no impact on Brian. "But I would never condone anything that would have hurt Justin in anyway. You know me, Peter; I was always encouraging you to pursue Justin. I supported your relationship when you wouldn't even admit that it was a relationship. Surely, you all don't believe that I would…"

"Actually," Mel snapped, cutting Lindsay off before she could make anymore excuses; she met Lindsay's frantic gaze with a laser-like glare of her own. "Yes, we could."

"Mel…" Lindsay gasped, as if she couldn't believe that her own wife would think so little of her; but why she was surprised Brian didn't know. They had the whole fucking confession on tape; there was no coming back from that.

"Save it for someone who's buying bitch," Yasmeen broke in this time; making Lindsay scowl. "We all saw the whole thing; from the moment that you walked your skanky ass into the nursery until the moment Justin told you to get your skanky ass out of his house. So, why are you still here? You didn't honestly believe that Brian would choose you over his husband now, did you?"

"This absolutely none of your business…" Lindsay huffed, crossing her arms over her chest as she turned to address Yasmeen; but she didn't get far before Mel laughed bitterly and cut her off again.

"No, but it is _mine_ ," Mel said, walking over to her bag and digging through it. "And you heard the man – get the fuck out of his house and don't come back! You aren't welcome here any longer." Mel pulled out a set of keys and threw them, hitting Lindsay square in the chest. "Here are the car keys; I'll get a ride with someone else. Right now, I can't stand to look at you."

"Peter…" Lindsay appealed again, but Brian remained stonily silent, still unable to speak for fear of what he'd say or do. "Brian…I only had both of your best interests at heart!"

"Oh, no she didn't," Yasmeen huffed, echoing Brian's own thoughts and looking like she was about to rip out every single strand of Lindsay's hair. Lindsay turned towards Yasmeen, likely to tell her to but out, but froze when Brian hissed.

"Lindsay," Brian said in a tight, controlled voice. "You have thirty seconds to get your ass out of my house before I unleash each, and every one, of these women on your ass. I may hesitate in giving you the beat down you deserve due to my upbringing, but I doubt that any of these fine ladies will have a problem doing it for me."

Lindsay gasped, her hand flying to her throat, but when she saw that Brian was still not going to fall for her act, her true colors shone through.

"Fine," Lindsay snapped, leaning down to grab the keys at her feet and walking towards Mel, where her clutch was located. "I'll just get Gus and Jenny and be on my way then."

"No you won't," Mel stated firmly, halting her progress with a steely glare; and thank fuck for that, because like hell was he going to let his kids go with this bitch. Not tonight. And not _ever_ if he had any say in it. "They are staying here tonight."

"Gus is my son and he will…" Lindsay bristled, taking a step towards Mel, and something inside Brian just snapped.

Growling under his breath, he stalked towards Lindsay, smirking coldly as she dropped the keys and scurried away, her eyes wide with fear as hit the wall. He swooped down, picked up the car keys and then strode over to her without a word. Grabbing her arm firmly, he yanked her out the door and towards the stairs, forcing her up them, barely even pausing as she stumbled.

As they reached the top, they strode past a shell-shocked Justin as Brian dragged Lindsay across the hall and towards the front door.

"Brian…" Justin spluttered as he followed behind them, through the living room and into the foyer. "What are you doing?"

"Taking out the trash," Brian spat as he opened the front door wide and then unceremoniously shoved Lindsay through the portal. She stumbled, but managed to catch herself at the last minute. Shame that. He tossed the keys into the dirt after her, and then stepped back just in time for Mel to rush up beside him.

"Don't forget this," Mel yelled as she lobbed Lindsay's clutch out the door.

Exchanging a look of solidarity, Mel turned on her heel and headed out towards the backyard; likely to cool off and see if she could find Gus and Jenny. Brian nodded and then glared at Lindsay one last time, ignoring her screeching and pleading as he slammed the door and locked it. Turning on his heel, he walked back towards the living room and halted as he met up with a confused Justin.

"Brian, what…" Justin said, looking between him and the door; and Brian couldn't help it, he just stared at his husband as a fresh wave of pain and anger washed over him.

"Three words, Sunshine," Brian said, ticking each word off with a finger. "Motion Sensor Camera."

Justin stared at him with confusion for a moment, running the words in through his head, and then paled, his eyes going wide and haunted as he caught on.

"Shit," Justin cursed, looking worried and a bit pissed himself as he walked towards Brian, and then halted when Brian held up one hand. He frowned and fidgeted, swaying uneasily on his feet. "Brian, I never meant for…"

But Brian didn't want to have this conversation here in the foyer; especially with Lindsay still screaming like a banshee in the front yard. He strode over to Justin and stopped in front of him, his masks carefully in place as he stared down at his husband, and said before walking off towards his study.

"I think we need to talk; don't you, Sunshine?"


	88. The Aftermath (Part One)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another long one for you; I got tired of calling these March 22 (Part Whatever) and renamed the next few The Aftermath. But keep in mind, everything still falls on either March 22 or March 23 in the wee hours of the morning.

**The Aftermath (Part One)**

Emmett took one last look around the yard, making sure that everything was like he'd found and nothing important had been left behind. Not that he expected to find anything; his team was proficient. And they'd long worked out the kinks years ago, putting together a flawless taskforce, where everyone knew exactly what the other one was doing and no stone was left over turned.

Nodding with satisfaction, Emmett strode towards the house, smiling when he saw the layettes lined up in a row in the mud room, let there to dry before washing. That had been one of Justin's better ideas, taken from when he and Jenny made onsies for Sunbeam. And from the looks of it, nearly every guest made one, so there was no shortage of clothing for this soon to be spoiled prince or princess.

Stepping into the kitchen, he checked the leftovers one last time, before storing them into the fridge for later tonight, or for lunches and snacks over the next few days. Wiping down the counters one last time, he walked over to the door and turned of the lights before heading up the stairs where Justin was likely sitting and waiting for his idiot husband to get home.

Emmett sighed; he knew he really shouldn't get involved, but he was worried about his Baby; all of this stress and upset couldn't be good for him or Sunbeam. And to have Brian take off after that bit of nastiness with the Queen of Malevolence; well, he was pretty sure that Justin was in no state to be alone.

Passing the nursery, he smiled and waved at Jennifer as he passed by, where she was straightening up and putting away the gifts that the boys had gotten today. She smiled sadly and waved back, pointing towards the bedroom as if she already knew who he was looking for; and she likely did. Frowning as she turned away, her shoulders tense, it took everything that Emmett had in him not to simply walk out the door, find Lindsay and slap her silly for all of the pain she'd caused this family.

But he was better than that, and there was more than one way to skin a cat as his Aunt Lula used say. That uppity, self-entitled termagant may have thought she'd gotten off lightly, but she hadn't how the Avenue reacts when you mess with their royal couple, but she soon would be. Now that everyone important was in the know, he knew that Blake had literally been salivating for the opportunity to have that bitch put into her place, and Emmett didn't doubt for one minute that he'd begun it when he got home tonight.

Emmett walked over to the open bedroom door and peered in, not wanting to wake Justin if he'd managed to fall asleep; and sighed when he found him bundled up in a blanket on a chair next to the window that faced the drive way, staring out it listlessly. Justin frowned as he twisted the ring on his finger, his brow furrowing as he sighed and then pulled the blanket up around him.

And _this_? This is why he will be right there beside Blake and Jen and Daphne and Lucille, and hell, anyone else that wanted to join, taking that shrew down. Because he hated seeing his Baby fret like this when he should be happy and celebrating this time in his life; this was supposed to be a good day for him and Brian both. And it had been until Miss High and Mighty decided to spread her vileness again.

Sighing internally, Emmett knocked on the door and pasted on a smile when Justin startled and looked up. He smiled weakly in return and waved as Emmett walked in the door and threw himself into the chair opposite of him.

"Hey, Baby," Emmett said, groaning as his tired and aching muscles relaxed. "I just wanted to let you know that everything is cleaned up and the crew is gone."

"Thanks, Em," Justin smiled wanly and twisted his ring again. "I really appreciate everything you did today. It was a beautiful shower and, from what I could see, everyone had a good time with the games. And the food was fabulous."

"Of course it was, darling; it's me after all," Emmett preened, drawing a soft laugh from his friend like he'd been hoping; but Justin grew pensive and looked out the window once more. "What are you doing over here?"

"Just resting," Justin said with a small shrug, his hands gripping at the blanket as a car came down the road; and then he slumped when it passed by.

"Uh huh," Emmett said, a disbelieving smile on his face; Justin bit his lip and looked away from the window. "So this has nothing to do with Lord Kinney storming out of the house in a high dudgeon?"

Justin frowned, but remained silent.

"Come on," Emmett cajoled, nudging Justin's chair with his foot; a small smile flashed across Justin's face, but just as quickly disappeared. "Tell Auntie Em all about it; it will make you feel better."

Justin sighed and looked back out the window; he was silent for a few minutes, but Emmett could tell he was just trying to find the right words rather than ignoring him.

"Brian and I had a fight," Justin finally said, running a hand through his hair. "Well, no; that's not right; it wasn't a true fight. It was more like a heated discussion." Justin huffed. "He left before it could become a true fight."

"Well, that was obvious from the look on his face when he stormed out," Emmett snorted; because yes, he loved Justin, but he had a way of stating the obvious sometimes. "We're all well acquainted with the ' _I'm beyond fucked off, get the fuck out of my way_ ' sneer. Although, I do have to admit that it hasn't been seen for a while."

"Yeah," Justin murmured unhappily; he looked down at something in his lap, but as it was covered by the blanket, Emmett couldn't see what it was.

"So what happened?" Emmett prompted, knowing that it would better if Justin got it off his chest than to sit here and stew.

Justin sighed again and then quickly began his tale.

 

_Justin chewed on his bottom lip and slowly followed Brian into the study, his heart sinking when he walked through the door in time to see Brian pouring a glass of Beam. Fuck. He was really upset; this was so not the way that Justin had wanted him to find out. Although, if Justin were being honest with himself, he never wanted Brian to find out the lengths that Lindsay had gone through to separate them._

_It just never seemed to be more important than making sure that things ran smoothly for Brian and Gus. He hadn't wanted Lindsay to use the inevitable blow up as a reason to take Brian back to court again; because even though he knew they'd win, it would be stressful for both Brian and Gus._

_Plus, he knew that learning this information would break Brian's heart; because, while Peter had finally grown up and left Never Land, he would always need his Wendy. Or so he thought; he wasn't so sure of that now._

_Justin sighed and came into the room as Brian looked down at the swirling liquid in his glass, as if trying to decide whether he wanted to drink it or not. Brian looked up, his expression unreadable as he stared at Justin, and that made his heart sink further into the pit of his stomach. Nothing good happened when Brian built up his walls._

_"Brian…" Justin said, reaching out hesitantly; but then he let his hand fall back to his side as Brian looked away, his jaw twitching as if he were holding back his words. And then he tuned back to Justin, his eyes suspiciously bright, which just made him feel worse._

_"Why didn't you tell me?" Brian asked in a rush, his lips automatically clamping shut as if he hadn't meant to ask that question, but his voice had gotten away from him._

_Justin swallowed thickly._

_"About what?" he asked; and while part of it had been a stalling tactic, it was still a legitimate question as he and Lindsay had covered quite a bit of ground in their argument; and he wasn't sure which part Brian was asking about._

_Brian scoffed and began ticking off on his fingers. "About Lindsay. About Simon. About Sap. Any of it, Justin."_

_Justin took a deep breath; of course, it would have to be all the hard issues. Truthfully he had known that before asking, but he really didn't know how to answer any of those implied questions to Brian's satisfaction. So, he didn't._

_"What good would it have done?" He asked, knowing that this wasn't the answer that Brian sought, but the only answer that he could give at this point in time._

_"What good would it have…" Brian spat incredulously; he slammed his untouched drink onto the desk, making Justin flinch; and then he pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose and began to pace the length of the room. "Are you fucking serious right now, Sunshine? It would have done a world of fucking good; at the very least I would have…"_

_"Tracked Simon down and beat the shit out of him? Justin asked, his mouth set into a thin line; because okay, he got that Brian was upset about not knowing. He should have said something, but he wasn't going to allow Brian to treat him a naughty child. "Like you did, Sap? Don't think that I am unaware of how and where he got that split lip and the bruised ribs from, this on top of the bruises I left behind."_

_"What bruised ribs?" Brian asked in confusion; and well, that was interesting news to Justin. "I only hit him once." Brian huffed and waved the question off as unimportant. "Not that it matters, as that's neither here nor there. Would I have tracked down that fucker and hit him, hell yeah! No one fucks with my partner and gets away with it…"_

_"And then, you would have gotten arrested," Justin huffed; and this was part of why he'd never said anything. Brian was always coming to his rescue and, while he appreciated his support, sometimes a man needed to fend for himself. "Because unlike Sap, he had nothing to hide; he wasn't drugging them and then putting them in a swing against their will. He just let it be known that if they wanted favors from him, he expected favors from them. He used good old-fashioned coercion and extortion. Illegal? Yes, but difficult to prove when your only witness refuses to talk because they know on what side of their bread is buttered. These kids are well aware that if they had talked, all those so-called contacts and opportunities would vanish in a puff of smoke."_

_"It would have been worth it," Brian spat, his eyes a wall of whiskey-colored flame; Justin inhaled sharply at the sight, even knowing that his husband's anger wasn't really directed at him, but at Lindsay and Simon; and likely a bit at Sap as well._

_"And besides that," Justin barreled on. "This was my battle, Brian. I love you, but I don't need you running to the rescue every time some bully tries to rattle my cage. I had his mark from the beginning; I knew something was off by the way he looked at me at that first show. I knew to stay clear of him when I got there. Not to mention the fact, that if I wouldn't even ask you for your help, someone that I love and trust implicitly, why the hell would I ever take a perfect stranger who I can't stand's help?"_

_"But you didn't; did you?" Brian asked quietly, a self-depreciative smile on his face._

_"Didn't what?" Justin asked, trying to figure out what Brian meant._

_"Trust me, Justin," Brian said, a grimace twisting his face as he looked at the ground. "Because if you had, Sunshine; you wouldn't kept this a secret. You would have told me everything years ago!"_

_"Oh my God," Justin huffed, feeling a little exasperated with his husband, because it always came back to this; God, he'd love to go back in time and get his hands on Jack and Joan and show them what it felt like to have your worth questioned each and every day of your life. The bastards._

_"Brian, how can you even say that? This had nothing to with **not trusting** you, and everything to do with **protecting** you. Because again, what could you have done? Simon was a non-entity from the start. Trust me, he didn't get away with anything; not only have I foiled his plans time and again, but so have other artists and gallery owners once I'd whispered in the right ears."_

_"Simon wasn't the only issue though, Justin," Brian said, sending a pointed look Justin's way; Justin had to look away because he really didn't want to address this. Because, whether he liked her or not, Lindsay was **family** and that complicated things._

_"You mean Lindsay," Justin said, running a hand through his hair; he supposed he should feel bad that he hadn't said anything about it, but he couldn't; Brian and Gus' happiness were far too important to him to ever trly feel remorseful for keeping quiet._

_And he said so._

_"I stand by what I said earlier; what could you have done? She's the mother of your son, and a member of the family. And you know what she was like then, dangling Gus in front of you, only to yank him away whenever you stepped a foot out of line; withholding visiting rights until you complied with whatever mandate she'd made! Like hell was I going to put you through that for something that was easily solved!"_

_"What could I have I done?" Brian spat, walking towards Justin, his eyes flashing with anger. "I'll tell you what I could have done, Justin. I would have dragged her rapacious ass to court a whole hell of a lot earlier, sued her for custody, and then when I won – which I would given everything I had on her – I would have booted her ass out the door a long ass time ago! Do you honestly think I'd want that viperous bitch in my life had I know that? In our son's life?"_

_"Brian…" Justin said, but he was quickly cut off by Brian._

_"Do you think I'd give her the opportunity to further warp Gus' into…" Brian demanded, his cheeks red with anger as he started pacing once more._

_"She wouldn't have done that," Justin said, but it was a weak argument at best; because he could definitely see the Lindsay that he'd grown to know since Simon's unwitting confession would use Gus in that way. "She wouldn't have done anything to hurt, Gus."_

_"But she did, Justin!" Brian growled as he walked back over towards Justin, getting up in his face. "Every time she used him as a bargaining chip, do you really think that he didn't know; and it that it didn't hurt him? Every time she used him as a meal ticket, do you really think that our son, as intelligent as he is, wasn't aware of that? Do you think that every time she bad mouthed you or me, that it didn't affect him? Because let me tell you something about my Sonny Boy, Justin. He saw, and heard, **everything** ; I know this, because when **I** was his age, I was in his position and I **saw** and **knew everything** going on between my parents, even if I didn't understand it fully at the time; but I certainly picked up on the vibes and it fucked me up for years."_

_"Brian…" Justin stammered, his heart sinking at the anger in his husband's eyes; he'd never wanted Brian to feel like he wasn't protecting Gus due to his actions; and while, he knew that most of what Brian was saying was him just venting old grievances, it still struck hard._

_"I will not let that happen to Gus," Brian spat. "I will not let Lindsay's envy, animosity and bitterness that her life didn't turn out the way she'd always fantasized put Gus in that untenable position of being stuck in the middle, walking on eggshells to please her, yet wanting to be with me and you. Do you know that he actually asked me if he could live with us the last time he visited? Had I known any of this, that's not a question he would have had to ask; because he would have already been here!"_

_"That's not fair," Justin said; he swallowed heavily and blinked back the tears burning at the back of his eyes. "I get that you're angry and hurt, but saying that is not fair; you don't get to lay that at my feet because you damned well know that I would **never** …"_

_Justin looked away, partially because he couldn't look at Brian at the moment, and partially because he didn't want Brian to see his reaction; God, these fucking hormones would be the death of him, making him cry at the drop of a fucking hat. He took a deep breath and looked back once he got his emotions under control, only to find Brian shutting down, his face going blank and unreadable once more. Fuck!_

_"I…" Brian said hoarsely, swallowing thickly on whatever was meant to follow; he looked over Justin's head and cleared his throat before trying again. "I have to go; if I stay here, I will say something that I regret and you're right, it is hardly fair of me to take my anger out on you."_

_"Brian…" Justin said, walking up to him to stop him from leaving; but Brian just held up a hand and walked around him and headed swiftly for the door._

_"Later, Sunshine," he said as he walked out the door._

_Justin stood there, stock still, and stared at the door in disbelief, almost expecting Brian to walk back in so that they could continue their discussion. But he knew that wasn't to be as he heard the front door slamming in the distance. He flinched and then pressed his fingers to his eyes, barely holding back the press of tears behind them._

_Fuck! Fuck that interfering, vituperative, avaricious bitch and the broken-down horse named Simon that she rode in on._

 

"Well, tell us how you really feel, Baby," Emmett drawled, drawing a weak smile from Justin when he'd finished his story; and then he sighed, because Big Bad was really his own worst enemy sometimes. Not that Justin was any better. "You know that he didn't mean that, Baby; he knows that you love Gus like he was your own. And you know that he wasn't even really angry with you, right?"

"Yes, I know, Em," Justin said, tiredly waving his hand. "While I know that he's hurt that I never told him about Lindsay, Simon and Sap, I'm also very well aware that it's not me that he's really angry with, and that once he cools down, we'll talk it out."

"So, why the long face?" Emmett asked, knowing that there was something more going on here; a feeling that was proven correct when Justin exploded with a torrent of information.

"I just hate when he leaves like that," Justin huffed, running a hand through his hair as he stared out the window. "It's not safe for him to be driving when he's this upset!"

Emmett nodded, because he could agree with that; not that he could get a word in edgewise as Baby just continued to babble out his worries and fears.

"And then where exactly is he going to go? Is he going to the loft? Woody's? Babylon? And if it's one of the latter two, is he going to drink too much, necessitating a stay at the loft? I hate when he stays there. Not only do I hate sleeping out here by myself, thirty minutes away from everyone, and a half-mile from our nearest neighbor, but the loft was already broken into once. And even if we have changed the locks and the codes, we don't even know how the guy got them, so who's to say they won't get in again. And if he's drunk and out of it, and unaware of his surroundings…"

Justin shook his head and cut himself off, obviously unable or unwilling to express his deepest fears out loud. Emmett swallowed and wanted to hug his friend and tell him everything would be all right. But, not only was Justin putting off ' _don't touch me'_ vibes, but Emmett couldn't be certain that nothing would happen to Brian when he was off by himself. God, he was going to kick some Kinney ass for this.

"I'm sure that's not the case," Emmett reassured. "He probably went for a drive…"

Justin just snorted and shot him a disbelieving look. And, okay, yes, Brian was likely doing one of the things that Justin mentioned before, but he had hoped to calm and reassure his friend; but Justin was far too wise to him for that.

"Okay, so he's likely headed to Babylon to sulk in his office," Emmett conceded with a grimace; and that just cemented his desire for Kinney ass kickage. "But if push came to shove, he could stay there if necessary. You know that he's done it before."

"I know," Justin sighed, looking back out the window morosely.

"Plus, the kids are here," Emmett said, trying to perk his friend's flagging spirits up. "So, you won't be by yourself."

"There is that," Justin said, just as listlessly as before; and then he smiled wanly. "I'm sorry, Em. You're probably exhausted and want to go home; I'll be fine. Gus and Jenny are here and will keep me company."

"If you're sure, Baby," Emmett asked, hesitant to leave Justin; but at the same time, he had an idiot to track down and drag back home.

"I'll be fine," Justin assured, and then turned right back to look out the damned window; oh, yes, Kinney; your ass is going to be black and blue for this.

Emmett stood and pressed a kiss onto the top of Justin's head and then turned on his heel, already messaging the bartenders at Woody's and Babylon to track down his intended target. He looked up and frowned when he spotted Jenny and Gus hovering hesitantly near the door; Jenny holding a book in her arms.

"Is Papa J okay?" Jenny softly asked, peering into the room.

"He'll be fine, sweetheart," Emmett said, smoothing back her hair. "He's just a little upset by an argument between him and your momma."

"And Dad," Gus said, a stoic expression on his face that so reminded Emmett of his father in that moment. "We didn't hear anything, but it was pretty obvious that he was upset when he left earlier."

"He just needed to cool off," Emmett sighed; he could already feel a headache blooming behind his eyes. "You know that Kinney temper." Gus snorted and Jenny giggled. "Why don't you go in and read to you Papa J. I'm sure he'd like some company."

"'Kay," Jenny said as she and Gus scrambled around him and head into the door, cheerfully engaging Justin about whatever plot they were reading now.

Emmett pinched the bridge of his nose, already exhausted and he hadn't even dealt with the more troublesome of the twosome. Sighing he looked up into Jen's sympathetic face and tried to smile, but he knew he'd failed when she just huffed.

"How is he doing?" Jen asked, nodding towards the door.

"He's justifiably upset with everything that is happening," Emmett said noncommittally as he wasn't sure just how much Justin wanted him to share with his mother.

"I don't blame him," Jen sighed, running a hand over her hair, smoothing it back as she tiredly stared into the room. "Every time I play it back in my mind, I just want to strangle that petty, conniving, repugnant bitch."

"Now, now, Mother Taylor," Emmett teased, even if he knew exactly how she felt; but Lindsay's downfall was something to worry about at a later time; after he dealt with His Surliness. "Tell me how you really feel."

"I'm afraid that's not fit for anyone's ears," Jennifer quipped, smirking when Emmett arched his eyebrows in surprise. "Child or adult."

"Yeah, I feel you," Emmett said, a scowl on his face. "I sent the kids in; they should be able to distract him for a while. Are you going to…"

"I'll stick around until Brian shows up," Jen said, walking back towards the nursery and leaving the kids to work their magic on Justin.

"Good," Emmett nodded. "I'm sure that having his mama about will help Baby keep his mind off things. I'm off to track down the Kinney half of this partnership."

"Good luck," Jen snorted, knowing full well the task Emmett had before him; she paused at the door to look over her shoulder. "And Em, try to go easy on him. While I may not be happy with the way my son-in-law is handling things at the moment, he has had a nasty shock today."

"We'll see," Emmett huffed. "No promises; sometimes, with Big Bad, you have to yank his head out of his ass for him; and _I am_ just the girl to do it."

With a wave, Emmett hurried down the stairs and went to find his husband so that they could find Brian; as, he was certain that once he'd found His Surliness, and forcibly removed his head from his ass, he was likely not in any shape to drive home himself.

**… … … … …**

Emmett knocked on the door at Babylon and waited to be let in has the club wasn't open for business yet; this was exactly where he thought that Brian would be. After gathering up Drew and explaining the situation, they'd driven – well actually, Drew drove while Emmett played phone and text tag with various friends, trying to track Big Bad down – back into town as quickly as they could. And they had nearly reached the city limits when finally his work had paid off in the form of a call from Babylon's doorman, Kyle.

Crossing his arms over his chest, Emmett studied the streets inhabitants, and couldn't help wondering why anyone would be here so early, before the real fun started. Blowing out a pent up breath, he hummed and turned when he heard the door opening and smiled as Kyle poked his head out and then ushered him in.

"He in the office?" Emmett asked, pointing towards the stairs that would take him to the VIP lounge and the offices.

"Yup," Kyle nodded, firmly closing the door behind them. "Stormed in here not twenty minutes ago and locked himself in. Wouldn't talk to anyone and hasn't been responding when anyone dared knock."

"Thanks for the call," Emmett sighed, sharing a long suffering look with Kyle.

"Anytime," Kyle said as he walked back towards the box office to finish getting ready for the night. "Good luck prying the bear out of his lair."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Emmett muttered, ignoring the cackling laughter behind him as he headed up the stairs. "Fuck my life."

Taking the stairs to at a time, he pulled out his secret weapon – a copy of the office keys that he'd filched from Brian's desk at Britin. Yeah, Brian would be pissed when he learned of it, but Emmett knew his friend well and he wasn't going to play the 'open the fucking door' game with Brian. Not tonight.

Stalking down the hallway, he came to a well known door and deftly inserted the key into the lock and unlocked it, swinging the door wide as he stepped in with a bright, fake smile. Brian looked up from where he was just getting ready to toss back a two-finger measure of Beam and frowned, utterly annoyed at the disturbance.

"There you are, honey," Emmett chirped, his smile stretching so far that it actually hurt as he rest his hands on his hips. "I _have_ been looking _all over town_ for you."

"I doubt that," Brian said, his tone as dry as the Sahara. "After all, I'm well aware that someone probably called you as soon as I stepped foot in the door because no one on this fucking street can mind their own damned business."

"Be that as it may," Emmett said as he stepped in and shut the door, his smile instantly dropping as he stared hard at the glaring man. "The fact is that I shouldn't have had to come looking for you."

"Not now, Honeycutt," Brian muttered, dismissing him with a careless wave of his hand; and oh, no, he didn't. That was not going to fly at all. "I am not in the mood for your histrionics."

" _My_ histrionics?" Emmett asked incredulously, placing his hand on his chest as he stared at his stewing friend in utter disbelief. Excuse him, but Emmett wasn't the one storming out of the house and tearing off in his car in a pissy mood. "Oh, you did not just go there." Brian rolled his eyes, which just irritated Emmett further, and the only reason he hadn't turned on his heel and left the sot to rot was his Baby was sitting at home worrying about the asshole. "Just what the fuck were you thinking, Brian?"

"It's none of your fucking business, Honeycutt," Brian spat, his eyes on fire as he looked over at Emmett; and then he defiantly tossed the drink back, as if he were expecting Emmett to snatch it away from him. But like hell was Emmett going to save him from his poor decisions. If he wanted to get rip roaring drunk and then go home to face Justin's wrath that was all on him, honey.

"Stop calling me, Honeycutt," Emmett hissed, returning glare for glare with the obstinate ass that he unfortunately called friend. "And it is too my fucking business when you storm off leaving, not only your pregnant, upset husband alone in the house when there is fucking stalker loose; but your two confused children behind as well."

"What are you talking about?" Brian asked, his brow furrowed with confusion.

"Did you forget that tidbit in the midst of your little temper tantrum?" Emmett asked sarcastically, not at all cowed by the warning look he received. "That Mel left Jenny and Gus to spend the night; and that, while they may not know what's happening, they do know something has everyone upset; and as you said yourself, your Gus is a bright boy. He can easily put to and two together and get four."

"Of course, Justin talked to you," Brian huffed, turning back to his drink, but Emmett could tell that he had forgotten that fact, and was feeling guilty about it.

"Yes, Justin _did_ talk to me," Emmett huffed, rolling his eyes when Brian scowled; he didn't want to stay and talk it out, but God forbid Justin talk it out with a friend instead. For someone that doesn't do jealousy, Big Bad sure did a great approximation of it. "But he shouldn't have _had_ to; he _should_ have been talking to you; but instead of facing it, you're in the club pouting."

And oh, that got him going, didn't it; good, Emmett would rather deal with pissed off Brian, than closed off, brooding Brian.

"Are you seriously saying that I shouldn't be pissed that," Brian said incredulously as he staggered out of the chair. "One – not only has one of my friends betrayed me; but two – my husband never told me about it? Instead, he shouldered all that responsibility, when he should have been letting me share the burden?"

"Not at all," Emmett huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "But leaving? Yeah; _that_ I have issues with, Brian. You should have known better than to get into your car and drive while you were pissed off. Not only could you have caused an accident, but you could have sent Justin into early labor worrying about your ass."

Brian reeled back at that and the fight slowly drained out of him; he looked away, a troubled look on his face. "If I hadn't have left; I would have ended up saying hurtful things that I couldn't take back; especially when those hurtful things were not meant for Justin's ears, but for someone else."

"Then you go into another room," Emmett said, not about to let that go. "Or out to the stables. Or fuck, go for a walk on that fucking huge ass property that you bought. You can't tell me that with a house that big and the anchorage around your property that you couldn't have found a secluded place to calm the fuck down."

Brian hummed and shrugged, but otherwise remained silent.

"What you don't do, is get into your fucking car, tear out of your drive way like a bat out of hell, scaring your already exhausted and stressed PREGNANT partner," Emmett pointed out. "Stressing him out further and worrying him to a degree that he is sitting in your bedroom, staring out a fucking window, watching for your return."

Brian actually looked abashed at that information; and Emmett was happy to see that his anger was winding down, even if he still looked unhappy.

"That is something that I would expect from the man I knew ten years ago," Emmett said quietly. "Not the man that you've become." Emmett paused to let that sink in, and knew it had hit its mark when Brian winced. "Tell me, what did Justin do that was so wrong that justified this little tantrum of yours?"

"He didn't trust me," Brian snapped, still visibly annoyed. "He knew that Lindsay and Simon were poison, that they what they are doing is tantamount to rape; at the very least it is a violation of, not only himself, but these other young artists that fell into Simon's trap."

Emmett squawked and frowned at those words; that had sounded far too close to Brian blaming Justin for his and these artists' fates. Brian looked up, a confused look on his face and then waved Emmett off impatiently.

"I'm not in any way, shape or form implying this is Justin's fault. But he knew this and he kept this to himself for years, when I could have…!" Brian trailed off and frowned, his eyes troubled. "A lie by omission is still a lie. He should have come clean!"

"You mean like you did with 'Blaine'?" Emmett asked, stopping Brian in his tracks; because they have been having this conversation for days now. "Correct me if I'm wrong; but you've known about his connection to your life for years as well, and never told Justin. A connection that is now causing you nothing but pain because the guy is, at the very least, an accomplice to the stalking; and yet, you _still_ haven't told Justin about him. And it's been almost two weeks since you found out."

"I told you I was waiting until after the shower…" Brian said, chagrinned as if he knew just how weak that argument sounded to his own ears.

"All I am saying is this – hypocrisy is not a good look on you, my friend," Emmett said, arching a brow and further annoying Brian, because the other man knew he was right.

"I don't know what to do," Brian said, blowing out a breath.

"Well, you're not going to figure that out here, Kinney," Emmett pointed out, waving his hand to encompass the office and club.

"It's Taylor-Kinney," Brian reminded him without heat.

"Then fucking act like it," Emmett groused, his headache coming back full force because that's what talking to Brian did to him sometimes. "And get your ass home where it belongs; because let me tell you something Big Bad, if Baby goes into labor from all the stress because you're too busy sulking to calm his ass down, I will beat you down just like I did Sap all those years ago."

"What?" Brian asked, his brows arched in surprise.

"Those bruised ribs?" Emmett said, reminding Brian of the conversation he had with Justin. " _That_ , along with the other bruises that Justin likely doesn't know about, _that_ was _my_ handiwork. You weren't the only one to hear the rumors and put two and two together. There was a reason that he stopped his parties, and it wasn't that he'd suddenly seen the error of his ways. I heard that something important ruptured down there and he hasn't gotten an erection since. What a shame."

"Jesus Fuck, Honeycutt," Brian gaped, awe and a touch of fear shining in his eyes.

"No one fucks with my little brother," Emmett stated firmly, cracking his knuckles as he did, just to see Big Bad blanch. "Now, you have a husband to get home to; and I need a fucking drink before going home to my husband and having him fuck me until I don't have the energy to fly to New York and take out another would-be rapist bastard."

"Oh, fuck, Honeycutt," Brian grimaced, scrubbing his hands over his face as if trying to erase it from his mind. "Don't tell me shit like that; I don't need anymore fucking nightmares."

"Pour me a drink, and then get the fuck out of here," Emmett demanded, even while knowing full well that Brian would tell him to fuck off. "Drew is waiting with the Hummer to drive your ass back. I'll take the SUV and bring it back tomorrow."

"Pour it yourself, you bitchy queen," Brian snorted, grabbing his jacket and holding his hand out for his office keys. Emmett exchanged them for the SUV keys. "Do I look like your fucking servant?" Brian walked past, bumping Emmett's shoulder as he passed; he paused at the door and looked back with an discomfited smile. "Hey, Em…thanks for…"

"Yeah, yeah," Emmett huffed, waving him off. "Just go home and fix this; that's thanks enough for me."

Emmett watched as Brian exited the office and headed down the hall; and then he turned and looked at the beam sitting on the desk and grimaced. Like hell was he drinking that nasty shit. He walked over and capped it, put it away and left the office. There was a big, fat Cosmo waiting for him at the bar and he intended to drink, and then head home to wait for his man. He so deserved a reward for putting up with this shit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't kill me! I know that this likely wasn't what you wanted to see; and it hurt writing it. But it needed to happen. As much as I would love for our boys to have a perfect understanding with each other and work it out maturely every time, let's face facts – the both of them have tempestuous natures and they are likely to butt heads due to that time and time again. They also both have the need to protect each other from the bad in their lives, sometimes to their own detriment. It was bound to happen sooner or later. I do promise to make things right. It just might be a little bumpy for a bit.


	89. The Aftermath (Part Two)

**The Aftermath (Part Two)**

Justin listened to Jenny with half-an-ear as she read aloud from _The Battle of the Labyrinth_ in the _Percy Jackson and the Olympians_ series; but his mind was miles away from the ongoing battle between Percy and Antaeus, no matter how interesting he typically found the tales to be. His mind was on Brian and what he was doing, if he was going to come home that night and if he'd made it to his destination safely.

Sighing, he looked up and found worried hazel eyes on him, and did his best to smile at Gus to reassure him; but he must not have done an effective job of it, as Gus just frowned in response. God, he looked so like his father when he did that. Holding out an arm, Justin waved Gus over and smiled for real when Gus clambered up onto the bed with him and Jenny and laid his head on Justin's shoulder.

Justin ran his hand through Gus's hair and just enjoyed the moment as Gus had long passed that age where cuddles were for babies; and he was now trying to assert himself as a man. But, occasionally, he'd allow Justin to pet him, just like he had when Gus was younger. Justin frowned, realizing that if Gus was tolerating Justin's need to cuddle, he too had to be worried about what was happening in the family; and that was a conversation that was soon coming, and one that he was not looking forward to.

He was well aware that there was no way they could keep this a secret from either of the kids; they were both far too bright not to see through the lies, and their families' lips were far too loose for them not to pick up on something. But the question was – what _did_ you tell them? While Gus was well aware of his mother's past machinations, and had apparently asked to come live with Brian and Justin, the subject at hand just wasn't meant for young ears; and he didn't know how they were going to handle this.

Pressing a kiss onto the top of Gus' head, Justin looked up as Jenny frowned and stumbled on the word Laestrygonian again; she tried to sound it out, as she usually did, but kept on stumbling over the pronunciation. But, instead of rushing to help, Justin let her try several times and waited until she'd looked up at him with a frown.

"Less-tree-go-knee-an," Justin corrected, nodding when she repeated it back to him and then went on reading to finish out the chapter; she then closed the book and set it aside as he praised her. "Good job!"

Jenny smiled and then burrowed into his side with a happy sigh; Justin kissed the top of her head and was just about to ask Gus if he wanted to read another chapter when his mother came into the room. He looked up, surprised, as he'd thought she'd left with everyone else; and then he felt guilty because he hadn't even noticed her presence in the house and instantly felt like a bad host, having left her to her own devices.

"Hey you two," his mother said, smiling at Gus and Jenny. "I made some baked three-cheese macaroni, some salad and I warmed up the pulled beef for sliders if you're hungry. There are also some leftover fruit skewers in the fridge as well."

Justin chuckled as Gus squealed and immediately scrambled off the bed at the first mention of food and practically ran in his haste to get out the door, licking his lips the whole way. His mother's baked three-cheese macaroni had been a favorite of his since the first time Justin had made it for him. Of course, Justin never could make it as quite good as his mother; there was always something missing despite the fact that he'd watched her make it several times. And anytime she made it, Gus was the first to the table.

"Awesome!" Gus exclaimed as he stopped at his mother's side; he kissed her on the cheek and then ran out the door, calling over his shoulder. "Thanks, Grandmom Jen!"

"Yummy!" Jenny cheered as she too scrambled off the bed; she paused to kiss his mother on the other cheek and then headed for the door, only to pause and look over her shoulder. "Are you going to come, Papa J?"

Justin was about to reply in the affirmative, when his mother cut him off.

"Papa J and I will be there in a bit, sweetheart," his mother said, a small, firm smile on her face.

Justin groaned internally, just knowing that those were mom-code for ' _I want to speak to your father alone right now'_ ; he knew this because she'd often used them on him and Molly whenever she wanted to talk to their own dad in private. Jenny must have caught the double meaning as well, as she looked between Justin and his mother with a frown before she wisely scampered off, yelling, _'okay,_ ' as she vanished out the door.

"I swear, if I didn't know Gus was Brian's child, I'd think he was related to you by that appetite alone," his mother fondly said as she entered the room; and Justin resigned himself to having the talk he'd been dreading since Emmett had shown up and pulled everything out of him. "He reminds me of _you_ when you were that age."

"We just like our food," Justin said with a weak smile; he settled back against the pillows, figuring he might as well get comfortable for the long haul. "Unlike some people who eat like birds."

His mother chuckled, knowing that he was referring to both her and Brian with that comment; and then she sat on the edge of the bed and asked quietly, "How are you doing?"

"I'm fine," Justin hedged, hoping that would sate her need for knowledge, but sighed when got _the look_ –  you know, the one that said ' _you better not lie to me if you know what's good for you_.' God, he hated that look because it _still_ struck fear into him, even if he was a grown man. He huffed and looked away. "I'm just upset about how all of this came out and…"

He trailed off, not wanting to admit the last part; the last thing he wanted to divulge was that he and Brian had argued. Not that it did much good as she'd always seen straight through him.

"The argument between you and Brian?" his mother prodded, arching her brow.

Yeah, _that_ ; he should have known that she already knew about it. Justin huffed, doubly dreading the conversation now.

"Did Emmett tell you?" Justin asked; because, while he and Brian had fought, they had been in the study, which was far enough away from the media room that their voices shouldn't have carried. Not to mention, he was pretty sure that it was sound-proofed as it had once been a music room. And Emmett was the only person he'd talked to about the argument. There was no way that anyone could have known; well, unless they'd seen Brian leave.

"Sweetheart, he didn't have to tell me anything," his mother huffed as she pulled her legs up onto the bed and tucked them underneath her; she leaned against the foot-board. "You forget that I know you and Brian. I've seen the way you react to adversity; you both are very passionate and tempestuous people; I'd be more surprised if you _hadn't_ argued."

Justin grimaced, but nodded in agreement nonetheless as he knew that she'd borne witness to more than a few of their spats; and even a couple of their more spectacular blow-ups as well. He chewed on his bottom lip and looked out towards the bedroom window, trying to put his feelings into words and decide how much he wanted to tell her.

"He's pissed at me because I didn't tell him everything when it first happened," he said, picking at the comforter. "That if he had known, it would have changed the way he'd handled certain things; especially when it came to Gus. He said that by not telling him, it showed that I didn't trust him."

His mother nodded solemnly; her brow furrowed as she considered her words.

"And he has every right to be angry," his mother stated firmly, causing Justin to look up in surprise; okay, maybe this wasn't the talk that he thought it was going to be. His mother stared at him chidingly, making him flush and look away; it wasn't often that his mother championed Brian as she knew that Brian could take care of himself. But when she did, Justin knew that he'd fucked up. "I don't blame him; and if I were in his shoes, I would feel equally as angry and hurt too. In fact, I was in his shoes for a long time when you first came out."

"Mom!" Justin huffed, annoyed that she'd brought up that time period; his mother just stared at him pointedly, as if to say, _prove me wrong_. But he couldn't and he knew that. There were definite parallels between this incident and that time; when Justin had been keeping secrets from his mother, including that of an older lover for a few weeks. He winced when she just arched an unimpressed brow.

"I'm your mother, Justin," she huffed, her lips stretched into a thin line; and Justin had to look away from her far too knowing gaze. "And I'm not going to lie; you were wrong to keep it from him." She paused to let that sink in before she continued. "And I think you know that; which is why you're sitting up here by yourself, stewing, rather than sitting downstairs with the kids acting as if everything is fine."

Justin frowned because he really hated how well his mother knew him; it had always been that way and he'd never gotten away with anything when he was younger. It was only when he had been a teenager and came out that he'd managed to flummox her for a while; and only then because she'd been floundering at his hostility and trying to save the family that she'd created. But as soon as Debbie had gotten her hands on her and had given her an arena to vent her frustrations, she'd been on to him in no time flat.

"Emmett might think it's because you're upset and worried; and he's right to a degree," she continued calmly, and then waited until Justin looked at her before she finished her thought. "But I know you Justin; if it was just that, you'd be downstairs, forcing a smile for everyone's benefit and pretending that you weren't. You're up here, brooding, because you know that Brian is fully justified in his anger and that scares you."

Justin looked away, his eyes burning as he held back tears once more; because she'd just hit the nail on the head. He pressed his fingers into his eyes and once again cursed the hormones that always seemed to have him on the edge of tears anytime things started to get overwhelming. Christ, he'd be so glad when this part of the pregnancy was over; along with being used as a punching bag by his very active Sunbeam.

Blinking away the film of moisture in his eyes, he cleared his throat and looked back at his mother, cursing when she looked at him with sympathy. Just was he needed. So he looked down at his hands in an attempt to avoid that knowing gaze and pulled himself together enough to ask:

"What if he doesn't…?" Justin trailed off, unable to voice his deepest fear.

"Come back?" his mother asked in a gentle tone; Justin shuddered just hearing the words aloud. And he knew that he was likely overreacting;he _knew_ this. But every time he and Brian fought, he could never quite quell the fear that this time, it just might be the time that Brian had had enough. And then his head shot up when his mother chuckled. "Please, Justin; if the man hasn't run away screaming due to half the shit you've put him through with your pregnancy alone, I doubt this will do the job."

Justin huffed and rolled his eyes; but hearing those words did make him feel slightly better. He hated the way his mind instantly went to this place. He knew that he and Brian were solid; Brian had proved this to Justin over and over again. But for some reason, every time they argued, and Brian left, he got this cold feeling inside and his mind instantly whispered _'what if?'_ It was a knee-jerk reaction that he couldn't seem to break no matter how hard he tried or how many years had passed.

"He _will_ be angry though," his mother said, shrugging when Justin frowned; he knew that, but he really didn't want to think about it right now. "Justifiably so; and you _will_ have to grovel a bit for forgiveness."

"A bit?" Justin huffed; because based on his argument with Brian, he was going to have to do more than a little groveling.

"He seems rather fond of your bratty self for some reason," his mother smirked, bringing a small smile to his face. But then she sobered and looked at him seriously; Justin winced and knew that she'd finally come to the point of her little intervention. "You should have told him, sweetheart."

"But…" Justin said, but he was quickly cut off before he could say anything more.

"No, Justin," his mother firmly stated, shaking her head at him. "No excuses. Put yourself in his place. What if the roles had been reversed? What if Daphne had done this to _Brian_ and he had kept it secret from _you_ for whatever reasons you were about to spout? And then, instead of hearing about it from him, as you should have, it came out in front of all the important people in your life? How would _you_ feel?"

Justin closed his mouth and looked away, feeling as if he were about two-feet tall; he flushed and really thought about it. If it had been Brian that this had happened to, and he'd either let his pride get in the way, or if he'd wanted to protect Justin's feelings, or just not wanted to put himself between Justin's and Daphne's friendship; and Justin had found out this way, in front of everyone…well, he'd be fucking furious; and, yes, hurt. Just like Brian was likely feeling now. And that left him feeling like a fucking hypocrite.

Christ, he'd really fucked this up.

Running a hand through his hair, Justin sighed; all the good intentions in the world didn't make-up for the fact that, in the end, Brian had seen this as a lack of faith in him. And even if he'd just wanted to make sure that Brian wasn't hurt by his friend, and that Gus wouldn't be put into an uncomfortable position between his parents, or that he wouldn't be hurt further by his mother's selfishness... it _was_ wrong.

"My guess is that you wouldn't be all that happy either," his mother said, shooting a knowing glance his way. "And knowing you as I do, you would have been ten times worse."

And the sad part is, he would have been; albeit for different reasons. He would have seen it as Brian treating him like that clueless seventeen-year-old that was naïve to the world. He would have seen it as Brian thinking that he couldn't handle the truth; and he likely would have queened out and stormed off just like Brian had.

Although, he wouldn't have left the fucking house and drove off to God knows where; he have holed himself up in his studio for a few hours, working out his anger on canvas. _That_ was one of the biggest gripes.

"He left," Justin said quietly, fear gripping his heart as he thought of Brian storming out of the house, getting into his car and driving away while he was still angry. That thought alone scared the piss out of him because he knew that most accidents happened when the driver was distracted. And he doubted that Brian had his full attention on driving with everything on his mind. "He just got in his car and left!"

"Good for him," his mother said, a touch of pride in her voice.

Justin just gaped; because that was the _last_ thing that he'd expected his mother to say. He thought that she'd say something like, he should have stuck around to work things out or the like. But his mother just smiled wanly and looked out the window, her eyes going distant as if recalling something.

"I remember a time when Brian wouldn't have backed down," his mother said with a sad smile; likely because she had been thinking of all those times that he and Brian had butted heads, and then he'd gone to her in tears due to the things Brian had said. "He would have kept right on going and ended up saying all those hurtful things that he was likely holding back; and _that_ would have made things so much worse. I know what an acerbic tongue he has on him. And well you know it too, young man."

Justin flushed and looked away. Well, when she put it like that, how was he to argue with her?

"Now, I might not _agree_ with him driving off while he was angry, because that's dangerous," his mother continued with an unhappy frown. "But, he was right to walk away and come back with a cooler head."

"I…" Justin trailed off; what could he really say to that? His mother was right, even if he hated to admit it to himself. "I just want him to come home."

"And he will," his mother said, reaching over to clasp his hand; and gave it a squeeze for good measure. "Emmett messaged me just before I came up here and told me that he'd found Brian at Babylon; and that he planned to talk to him before sending him home and that he'd call when Brian was on his way."

Oh, fuck; Justin pinched the bridge of his nose at that information. He should have known that Emmett would go looking for Brian after he'd left here without so much as an argument. Flattening his palm, he pressed his hand to his face and hoped like crazy that things hadn't gotten too heated between the two friends. Because, while Justin appreciated Emmett's desire to help him, this was really something that he and Brian need to work out and solve on their own.

"I don't want him driving if he's been…" Justin huffed, only to be cut off by his mother's annoyed glare.

"Which is why _Drew_ will be bringing him home," his mother said, arching a brow. Justin managed a sheepish smile. "Give us some credit for thinking about that, Justin. Now, let's go eat; because, while you may not feel hungry right now, you've had a long day and you should eat anyways for Sunbeam."

Justin sighed; but knew there was no getting out of it. That hadn't been a request, but a command on his mother's part. And he'd learned long ago that arguing with his mother was a useless endeavor. Plus, despite still feeling unsettled and upset at everything that had been happening, Sunbeam was demanding nourishment and his mother _did_ make the best baked three-cheese macaroni.

**… … … … …**

Justin toyed with his food; although, he'd eaten a small portion of it, and although he should probably eat a bit more, he just couldn't stomach it. He was still playing over his mother's words and feeling like a heel. He'd gotten beyond being upset that Brian left and now didn't blame Brian for being pissed off at his actions. He could see how it could come across as him not trusting Brian, rather than him wanting to protect Brian and Gus.

Plus, he knew that Brian hated being lied to; always had. And while Justin had never outright lied to his husband about the Simon situation, he'd also never been fully honest about it either. And as Brian was always fond of saying, a lie of omission is still a lie.

Not to mention, how many times had _he_ gotten irritated with Brian for keeping things from him for his ' _own good_ '? That he'd gotten on Brian's case for holding back information just because Brian had felt that it would be better for Justin in the long run; it had inevitably pissed him off every single time. Like Chicago. So much could have been easily resolved if Brian had just confided in him and told him that his job was on the line if he hadn't gone. But Brian hadn't wanted to worry Justin, who had just finally recovered from the bashing (somewhat), and whose livelihood and school tuition depended on Brian's income.

The answer? Far too many; and again he felt like a hypocrite.

Shoving his plate away, Justin tried to focus on the conversation between his mother and the kids, but he'd lost the thread of it a long time ago and had no idea what they were talking about now. But it seemed to be about some show they were watching or a game they were playing, Justin couldn't figure out which. Shaking his head in confusion, he gave it up for ghost, and was just about to take his plate to the sink, scrape it clean and then go into the living room, when his mother stopped talking and looked at her phone.

She smiled as she read the screen and the quickly typed a reply, and then set the phone on the table. Justin arched a brow when she looked up.

"That was Drew," his mother said by way of explanation. "He was telling me that they were at the stop light at Cedar Creek and would be home soon."

Cedar Creek – that meant that they were about five minutes away. Justin swallowed thickly, a frisson of nerves shooting down his spine as he realized that Brian would be home in just a few minutes; he was so torn on how he felt about that. Part of him was ecstatic and wanted to run to Brian and hold him, another part of him was angry that he'd left in the first place, potentially endangering himself, and yet another was worried, because they had so much to resolve and Brian was very likely still pissed at him.

Standing, Justin threw out what little was on his plate, rinsed it and stuck it into the dishwasher. He closed it and began tidying things up, wanting to give his hands, and the nervous energy coursing through him, something to do. He pulled down a plate and served up a helping of everything, going heavier on the salad than the beef and the mac and cheese, knowing how Brian felt about eating too many carbs. And then he covered it with foil and set it on the stove just in case Brian wanted to eat when he got home.

Covering the remaining items, Justin began to put them away, startling when he felt his mother's hand on his back. He looked up at her and smiled weakly; and then moved out of the way and let her take over because she would do it anyways. And between the two of them, it was quickly done; and they were just heading out to get her purse so she could go home when he heard the door open. Heart pounding, Justin froze and swiped his hands along his pants as his mother continued out to the foyer to greet Brian as he came in.

"Hey, sweetheart," his mother said, instantly pulling him into a tight hug; Brian rolled his eyes and gave a long-suffering sigh as he hugged her back, dipping down so that she could kiss his cheek. "I was just about to leave; but I'm glad I caught you before I did. It was a lovely shower despite the ending. And the nursery was amazing; you did such a good job with it. And the furniture – so beautiful; you should be so proud of yourself."

And if Justin wasn't frozen in place, he would have laughed at her WASPy handling of Brian, instantly putting him at ease and making him smile, even if it was a brief thing. But he was frozen with fear and worry, and all he could do was stand there and watch them exchange pleasantries.

"Thank you, Mother Taylor," Brian said with a smile, although his voice sounded a bit hoarse as he stepped away from her and helped her with her coat. "That means a lot coming from you."

"I'll see you boys later," his mother said, waving Brian off as she looked over at Justin; Brian looked up and over at Justin as well, his face blank, but his eyes seemed to drink him in, even if Justin could still see a hint of anger lingering in them. Well, he hadn't expected anything less. "Definitely for next week's family dinner, if not sooner."

Justin waved halfheartedly as his mother walked out and closed the door behind her, leaving Justin and Brian to stand there, staring at each other silently. Justin shifted uneasily on his feet, his hands automatically coming to rest on a restless Sunbeam, a gesture that instantly grabbed Brian's eyes.

"Hey," he greeted, taking a step forward; and then he halted in his tracks, as he still wasn't certain of his reception, and Brian's expression wasn't giving much away.

"Hey," Brian said as well, taking a few steps into the room and then halting as well, as if he too wasn't really certain of where to go from there.

"Um…there's some baked mac and cheese and beef heated up for sliders and…" Justin said, gesturing vaguely over his shoulder at the kitchen.

"I'm not really all that hungry at the moment," Brian said, grimacing at the mere mention of food; and Justin figured that he wouldn't be, despite having made up a plate. Brian rarely ate anything when he was upset.

"Brian, I…" Justin said in a rush, but trailed off when Brian just held up a hand.

"Please, Justin," Brian said, running a hand through his hair. "Not now."

Justin swallowed thickly and looked away, his eyes prickling, but did remain silent as asked; he'd known that Brian likely wouldn't want to talk just yet, but he hated when things went unresolved between them. He nodded and moved to walk away, but was stopped by a hand on his wrist. And when Brian had moved, he didn't know.

Blinking back his tears, he looked up into his husband's face; Brian sighed, cupped his cheeks and pressed a kiss to his brow. Justin closed his eyes, reached up to rest his hands on Brian's wrists, and just breathed his husband in. Brian pulled away just far enough that he could rest his head against Justin's and just stood there a moment.

"I love you," Brian said when he finally spoke, his voice hoarse; and Justin could hear the layers of hurt and anger in it. "Never doubt that."

"But…" Justin said, holding his breath for the other shoe to drop.

"I'm still so very angry with you, and hurt," Brian admitted, his hands tightening on Justin's cheeks a bit, before they relaxed. "But I'm also exhausted, and I'm not ready to talk about this right now." Justin nodded; Brian slid a finger under his jaw and tilted his head up until their eyes met. "And believe me; we _will_ be talking about it, Justin. For now, I just want to spend the rest of the evening with the kids and then we can come back fresh tomorrow morning and talk things out."

"Do you want me to go…" Justin asked, trailing off again when Brian looked annoyed; but he wasn't sure just which part annoyed him

"Don't be stupid," Brian huffed, kissing him firmly on the brow. He released Justin as they heard quick footsteps coming from the direction of the kitchen, but did wrap a hand around the back of Justin's neck to keep Justin there at his side as Gus ran into the room. "Hey Sonny Boy, did you leave any food in there for the rest of us?"

"Daaaaad!" Gus whined, looking put out at the teasing; but the laughter in his eyes told a different story.

"What, between you and your Jus, that's a legitimate question," Brian smirked, sliding his arm around Justin's shoulders and pulling him into his side. Justin let out a pent up breath and sagged into Brian's side, willing to take the support, even if it was just a front for the kids at the moment.

"We saved you a plate of food," Gus said mock grudgingly, as if even saving that had been a hardship on him.

"Wow, a whole plate," Brian snickered, ruffling Gus' hair, much to his son's annoyance. "I am honored by your restraint, Sonny Boy."

Gus stuck his tongue out at Brian, who just smacked him lightly on the back of his head. And the Gus looked up at him, almost like an eager puppy.

"Do you want me to get it for you?" Gus asked, ready to go do his father's bidding.

"Maybe later," Brian said, a regretful smile on his face. "I'm still full from earlier. Why don't you go set up a movie instead? Something that all four of us will like."

"Popcorn?" Gus demanded, as he did every time they watched movies together.

"Yes, I'll make your popcorn for you, you glutton," Brian huffed, rolling his eyes when Gus cheered and did his happy dance.

"Awesome!" he said, and then he ran off calling for his sister. "Jenny! Movie time!"

"I swear, that kid gets his appetite from you," Brian huffed, tightening his arm around Justin and pressing a small kiss to his temple.

"We just like our food," Justin said, finishing the reoccurring joke a bit weakly; Brian looked down at him with a small frown and then sighed, and pulled him into his arms.

Justin tentatively wrapped his arms around Brian and leaned into him as much as his stomach would allow. They stood there silently for a minute, each lost in their thoughts; but as long as Brian was there, he was okay with that. He knew that by no means was this over, and that they _would_ have to talk about this later, and they'd likely get into another argument because that's what they did when they were overwhelmed.

But for this moment he was okay.


	90. March 23 (Part One)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay on this installment. Due to RL events, I've had an exhausting few days that led me to falling asleep pretty much right after dinner, which is when I usually find time to write. I do want to remind people that updates (barring any unforeseen circumstances) will only be every other day on this story for its duration. This will allow me to spend time on Bottoms Up and a few other things in the works. On a plus note, this is the longest chapter to date for this story; and, while I'm not entirely happy with the first part as Brian was everywhere, hopefully it will make up for my absence. Thanks as always for your support!

**March 23 (Part One)**

Brian took another deep breath, the crisp early spring air stinging his lungs as he inhaled and then slowly let it out as he stared at the pond. When he'd left Justin curled up asleep in their bed this morning, he'd hoped that coming here would calm and soothe the turmoil in his mind; but he still was having trouble wrapping it around everything that had happened and came out the day before.

While he was no longer incandescent with rage – well Lindsay aside, but that was a matter for another day – he was still angry and very hurt that Justin hadn't confided in him long ago. It didn't help matters that the way he'd found out was, while not a public arena, but definitely not in private and from his husband as it should have been.

He was trying not to hold onto that anger, but he couldn't help the way he felt. He understood that for Justin, he was likely trying to protect Brian and Gus; or at least, he thought it was about protecting them. And, it likely was for the most part; but he knew his husband. And while nothing was more important to him than Gus and himself, and he'd have to be an idiot not to know that after all of these years, he also suspected there was something more that he was withholding in his motivations.

He just had a hard time believing that the reason behind Justin's silence was because Justin had been worried that Lindsay would hold Gus hostage or cause problems if he and Justin had confronted her on her actions years ago. It didn't make sense. While that excuse might have flown had Justin found out about Simon's and Lindsay's true intentions when he first got to New York, that wasn't the case.

When Justin had learned of Simon's and Lindsay's duplicity, Brian had already been granted rights to Gus; he'd had a signed agreement in place and Lindsay had been somewhat cowed. And yes, he _could_ pinpoint almost to the day when it had happened because; one, Justin had acquired a protégé, something his husband hadn't considered prior to that point; and two, Justin's feelings towards Simon had ratcheted up from simple dislike to utter loathing in the space of a week.

That information placed it to just about three years ago.

Three years ago, Lindsay had been forced to allow him visitation with Gus and had been very firmly warned that if she'd tried any of her mind games with him or Gus, Brian would seek a more permanent resolution. Lindsay holding Gus over his head wasn't ever going to be a problem. So, what exactly had Justin been protecting him from?

Lindsay's further downfall in his eyes? If that were the case, his husband had seriously misjudged Lindsay's importance in his life; not that he blamed him. For a long time Lindsay had been the Wendy to his Peter. She was the girl who left Never Land to enter the adult world and he had been the perpetual boy that wouldn't grow up. That is, until his own Tinkerbell – a short, sassy blond with an attitude – had entered the picture.

From that point on, Wendy's importance in his life had diminished to the point of nonexistence after the custody battle. The greatest blow had come in the form of Lindsay's manipulation of him using the Art Forum article. And fuck, he really didn't want to focus on Lindsay just yet; the mere thought of what she'd arranged with that pathetic asshole made his blood boil; he knew he'd have to deal with it soon, but first he had to figure out what he pretty, little blond brat had been thinking.

He couldn't move forward with the appropriate actions against Lindsay and Simon until he had dealt with this current situation with Justin.

Blowing out a harsh breath, Brian moved on, his mind going in a thousand directions at once, bouncing from one thought to another without any real focus; it was frustrating that he couldn't get it to settle just on one topic. He _hated_ this feeling; hated that he couldn't get his thoughts in order. He usually solved by going to Justin; talking things out with his husband and using him as a sounding board always silenced the voices in his head.

But, in this instance, he _couldn't_ do that, because Justin was part of the problem; and until they talked things out, he had no hope of resolving the other issues.

Christ, what a fucking mess.

Brian headed back towards the house; he felt like he had no clearer idea of how to approach this than when he left. The only thing his mind had done was wrap itself up into tighter circles and he didn't have a hope of unraveling the mess before talking to Justin; but maybe that was the point. Maybe there really was no good way to approach this, and he'd just have to wing it, get everything off his chest, and hope that it didn't escalate to the point where they were hurling unjust accusations at each other again.

Like he'd done yesterday, he was ashamed to admit.

He'd come very close to accusing Justin of endangering Gus through negligence; and that had been completely unfair of him. He hadn't said it in so many words, but that what it had been leading up to, even if he really wouldn't have meant it. He'd just been reacting to everything and Justin was a close, convenient target.

And that's why he walked away. When Justin rightfully called him on his words, he'd stopped cold and played them back in his mind and shuddered that he could have even in anger accused Justin of not thinking of Gus' well-being. He'd needed to walk away at that point before he'd said much worse; before he'd said something to Justin that he couldn't take back. So, he left. It was needed.

What he hadn't appreciated was being hauled home like a misbehaving teenager. He hadn't planned on staying Babylon or at the loft that night. He had already made arrangements with a car service to bring him home in case he'd drank to much while he was sitting in his office. Honeycutt, as much as he loved the man, did not need to come barreling in and rake him over the coals, even if he'd had a point about not leaving the house when he was mad. And truth be told, although he'd hidden it well, he was kind of resentful that the nelly queen had just _assumed_ that Brian was falling into past patterns.

It would have been nice if Emmett had actually talked to him, rather than down to him as if her were an errant school boy needing to be brought back into line. It was insulting. And it stung more than he could possibly explain.

He got that Emmett was protective of Justin, and that usually worked in Brian's favor, rather than against it; but hadn't he proven by now that Justin was his everything and he'd never do anything to jeopardize that? And was it too much to ask that people butt the fuck out of his relationship? Do they not have their own to worry about? At least with Drew, he had made his points without acting as if Brian had been the fucking Antichrist for daring to be angry that his husband had hidden a major transgression for years.

_Brian stormed out of Babylon and headed for the Hummer that was conveniently waiting for him on the street. Of course; Honeycutt had probably been on the phone with his honey as soon as Brian had left the office, telling him to make sure that Brian didn't make a break for it. As if he'd ever do anything so undignified._

_Rolling his eyes, his rage cooling to a low simmer in the back of his mind, Brian walked over to the Hummer and climbed into it; if nothing else, at least he didn't have to pay for the car service to take him all the way home at the end of the night. Not that he'd actually had all that much drink in the first place. He'd only just poured his second glass when Emmett had made his untimely appearance._

_And honestly, it had taken everything he had in him to actually listen to what the man had to say and to not automatically call him bouncers and have him tossed out on his ass. And the only reason he hadn't was that he appreciated that Emmett was looking out for Justin's best interests; but it would have been nice if he had actually asked Brian what was going on rather making a bunch of assumptions._

_Slamming the door shut, Brian buckled up and then quickly sent a text to Mason, his usual driver to let him know that he wouldn't need his services after all. And then he quickly pocketed phone a forced a fake smile as he turned to Drew._

_"Are you going to jump on my case too?" Brian asked bluntly; because, if he was going to have to listen to You're Behaving Like an Ass 2.0, he'd rather just go to the loft and face the consequences of his actions later._

_Drew just glanced over, one eyebrow raised at Brian's combative stance. And then he looked back at the road calm as you could please._

_"Not taking sides," Drew said, flicking on his blinker as he changed lanes and headed off the Avenue towards the highway that would take them to Britin. "It's frankly, none of my business; and if I expect people to stay out of mine and Emmett's relationship, then I can't be poking my nose into theirs."_

_And that really took the wind out of his sails._

_"That's a first," Brian muttered, looking out the window at the stores passing by, frowning when Drew just huffed and nodded with a wry smile._

_"You have to understand where Emmett is coming from," Drew said with a small shrug of his shoulders. "He lost all of his family except for his Aunt Lula when he came out. They all turned their backs on him. And at the time he met Justin, you two weren't as close as you are now. He saw himself in Justin."_

_Brian looked over with a frown, trying to see where the parallels laid._

_"A young kid, kicked out of his home because of something he couldn't change," Drew continued as he turned onto the highway. "Forced to rely on the tenuous kindness of strangers and a couple of family members in order to survive; and he latched onto that, took him under his wing and came to see him as a younger brother. And he is fiercely protective of those he considers family."_

_Brian huffed; that was the understatement of the year._

_"So, naturally, he sees that Justin is upset and worried and he wants to help him," Drew continued with a fond smile. "And in his mind, that meant tracking down the person or thing that was causing him grief. And since he can't get his hands on Blaine, you got the full brunt of it; because he knew you'd take it and wouldn't hold it against him. Much."_

_"He had a point on a few things, but…" Brian huffed, looking back out the window; it was difficult to stay mad at Emmett when it was put that way._

_"He should have minded his own business?" Drew asked; he nodded when Brian let silence continue to fill the void between them. "Yeah, you're right about that; but it's not in his nature." Brian snorted; Drew smirked, because yeah, he really did know their favorite Queen. And then he sighed. "And I'm not telling you any of this because I want to minimize your anger at either one of them. I'm just giving you a bit of perspective on the mind of Emmett Honeycutt from the person that knows him best."_

_Brian hummed and grudgingly admitted that Drew might have a point about it; but that still didn't assuage the ache building up inside. He'd be the first to admit that in the past, Brian hadn't always been the most supportive partner. But things had changed over the years, and he wasn't sure why his husband thought he couldn't come to him with his problems. In fact, it hurt a great deal knowing that Justin had been deliberately silent in regards to Simon and Lindsay's involvement with the cunt._

_And angry; he mustn't forget that, because he was so incredibly angry. It was mostly directed at Lindsay and her actions, but there was a good small portion that was wrapped up in Justin too. Part of it because he never said anything in the first place, but most of it was due to the fact that it didn't seem as if Justin had planned to come clean even after his confrontation with Lindsay. In fact, Brian was fairly certain that if they hadn't seen everything broadcast live through nursery feed, Justin would have remained reticent on the matter and he was not happy about that._

_Did it make him a hypocrite as Emmett had said given the fact that Brian hadn't filled Justin in on the whole Blaine situation; maybe. He'd accept that; but he couldn't help the way he felt. And the situations weren't exactly the same. Justin had kept this from Brian for years opposed to a couple of weeks. And really, until the opening of Justin's show, Blaine had just been an informant, not a potential accomplice._

_Should he have told Justin right away when he'd learned about Blaine being at the gallery? Yes, definitely; but in his defense, he had only planned to wait until after the shower before filling Justin in on Blaine and his involvement. He had fully intended to tell him today had the world hadn't imploded yesterday. But at the very least, he had always planned to inform Justin of the situation; he had never intended to keep his life-partner in the dark and that Justin could, it made him so fucking…_

_"I'm so angry that he never said anything," Brian hissed aloud; his hands clenching into fists as the pain inside doubled, ricocheting throughout his body as he tried to come to terms with his partner lying to him. And it was a lie, if only by omission. "And I'm furious that he was planning to keep it a secret even after…"_

_"And you have every right to be," Drew firmly agreed, shrugging when Brian looked at him in surprise; that was not the response he'd been expecting after Emmett's bitch out. "If Emmett had done that to me, I'd be pissed off too."_

_"So you think…" Brian asked, but then trailed off when Drew smirked._

_"Nah uh, like I said, not taking sides," Drew said, shaking his head, the faintest hint of humor in his eyes before he sobered. "Because I can see it from both sides and it's a fucking complicated mess. Justin did what he did because he felt it was best at the time. Right or wrong, he did it from a place of love. Keeping it a secret after that point, well, that's for you two to decide the right and wrong of it. Especially as the main speculation that he feared saying anything because Lindsay would hold Gus hostage doesn't really hold up as you have rights to Gus, and had them at the time he found out."_

_And thank you; Brian was glad that someone had done the math and figured out that Gus couldn't be used as a tool at that point in time. So, why the fuck had Justin…? It was also interesting to note that Drew had been paying enough attention to the situation to be able to pinpoint an approximate time line himself._

_"That's what I don't understand," Brian huffed, looking out of the window with a pensive frown. "Why was he keeping it from me when things had happened well after the custody battle? He knew that she couldn't hold Gus over my head."_

_"Now that's a question to be asking him," Drew conceded, sending Brian a knowing look; Brian arched a brow. "Knowing Justin, I'm sure he had his reasons. But whether they were good enough…well…you be the judge of that."_

_Brian hummed, but remained silent. That was the question wasn't it? Could anything Justin told him justify his actions? And could they work this out without it becoming a DefCon1 situation? Sighing, Brian leaned his head against the back of his chair, suddenly exhausted by the turmoil in his head and everything that he knew that he and Justin had to hash out before they even attempted to deal with fucking Lindsay._

_Christ, what a fucking mess._

_"I will point out one thing though," Drew said, filling the silence that had grown between them as they hurtled towards Britin. "When Lindsay did this, she was hoping to create a rift between the two of you. Don't let her win."_

_"Lindsay doesn't have the power to do that anymore," Brian muttered; but he grudgingly conceded Drew's point. This is exactly what Lindsay was hoping would happen; that a large enough chasm would develop between him and Justin, allowing her room to sow her particular brand of poison. And like hell was he going to let that happen._

_"Then be as pissed at you want," Drew said; and Brian smiled for the first time that night since he'd learned of the New York debacle. He knew that when he got home and confronted Justin, there would be nothing to smile about; but in this moment, it felt good that someone realized that he had the right to be mad at the situation. "Just remember, in the end, he has always had your back and you have had his; you've fought before and come back stronger for it. Don't let the hurt and anger fester too long."_

Brian sighed again; it was sound advice and a piece that he fully intended to follow. If he could ever get his mind to start functioning in a logical and orderly manner; or, at the very least, enough to keep him from lashing out irrationally when they talked after the kids went home. It was bad enough that Gus and Jenny had been exposed to the lingering discomfort between them last night. He would not allow them to witness yet another fight between him and Justin.

And a fight it would be; he knew his little drama princess well. As soon as he dropped the bomb that was Blaine, he was going to have a queen out of epic proportions on his hands. And he was so not looking forward to that; but, at the same time, he couldn't get on Justin's case about withholding information if he continued to do the same.

Shoving his hands into his pockets, Brian rounded the bend of the path and looked up as he heard a car door slam in the distance. Hastening his pace, Brian walked towards the front drive and then groaned under his breath when he saw that both Emmett and Melanie standing by Justin's SUV, debating about something.

Grumbling under his breath, Brian walked towards them, resigned that he had to deal with them at this hour of the morning. Although, he was glad to see Mel; the sooner his Sonny Boy and Jenny were away from the house, the sooner he and Justin could deal with the matter at hand. Even if he wasn't keen on the idea of either of them being within the same state, let alone the same house, as Lindsay.

Brian neared his friends and then froze as the conversation they were having caught his ear, leaving him beyond stunned.

"I'm just saying that I fully understand Brian's anger," Mel huffed, shaking her head at a disgruntled looking Emmett. "And I think he is completely justified in it."

Brian looked up at the sky in bewilderment, just to check that it wasn't falling and that hell hadn't frozen on the same damned day; because the thought of Melanie defending _him_ of all people was just so out there in Bizarro World, that Brian was certain that he'd somehow stepped into a rift that took him to another dimension. This had to be proof that Mikey's comics were right and there actually is a multi-verse out there.

What the actual fuck?

"Being that I too have just recently learned that my partner," Mel paused and pinched the bridge of her nose as if oraying for strength before she took a deep breath and continued on with her thoughts. "My wife; has this whole other side to her that I can't even begin to fathom, let alone accept. And I'm sure Brian is feeling equally off balance."

And can you just say that just when he thought his life couldn't get any stranger, someone dropped a big fat doozy on him to prove him wrong; because, seriously, how the fuck was this his life that _Melanie_ of all people was on his side!?

"But Justin…" Emmett protested, only to shut his mouth and look away when Mel scoffed and shot him an _'are you serious'_ look.

"Really Emmett?" Mel looked at him skeptically, a brow arched as if she was daring him to dispute what she was about to say. "So, you're telling me that if Drew had done this to you that you would perfectly understand and wouldn't queen out that he'd kept something so vital from you for years?"

Thank you! Again, why couldn't certain people see this point without it having to be pointed out to them time and again?

"Well," Emmett conceded reluctantly; although, Brian could tell that he wanted to argue about certain points. Like how Brian hadn't been much better about keeping things from his husband; but he'd been sworn to secrecy. "When you put it that way…"

"Exactly," Mel said, looking satisfied that she'd successfully made her point. "I am not Brian's biggest fan, but in this case, he has every right to be angry and better that he'd walked away before hurtful things could be said than to stay and let the argument escalate to the point that things couldn't be taken back."

Emmett huffed and still looked ready to argue; but Brian expected that. It must be eating the Queen alive to know that he had a vital piece of gossip that he couldn't impart without Brian seriously doing him harm. But the less people that knew about it, the better. He really shouldn't have said anything to Emmett or Ted that day, but he had been shocked to see Blaine standing there and it had led to him being indiscreet.

"I know you love Justin," Mel said, patting Emmett on the arm. "We all do; but you shouldn't have gotten involved. This is something need to work out on their own."

And that was when Brian decided to make his presence known; because this Mel defending him bit was just getting far too bizarre for him to handle.

"Wow," Brian drawled, instantly garnering the attention of his two friends, both of whom had the grace to look abashed that they'd been caught gossiping. "Two people sticking up for me in less than twenty-four hours; I think hell just froze over. But, as Mel said, this isn't anyone's business, but mine and Justin's; and I say this with all the love and care I can muster right how, kindly butt the fuck out."

"Hey, I'm not here to get involved," Mel said, holding up a hand to stave off any argument. "Just here to pick up the kids so that you and Justin can have time alone to talk."

Brian arched a brow at Emmett, who scurried off without a words; likely to go commiserate with his Baby about men and what assholes they were. Brian just watched him go with a blank expression; he really didn't need to start an argument with Emmett as well as Justin. One thing at a time; he could address Emmett's little intervention at a later date when he was feeling a bit more rational.

"I appreciate that," Brian said, turning back to Mel; he frowned. "Although; I will admit that I'm not all that thrilled by the idea of Lindsay being near either Gus _or_ Jenny at this point in time after everything we learned."

"Oh, I wouldn't worry too much about her," Mel smirked, looking very much like the cat that had gotten the canary.

"Dare I ask?" Brian arched a brow, wondering what she was up to.

"She didn't come home last night," Mel frowned, her eyes hardening as she looked up at him, a small defiant spark in her eyes as f she were expecting him to argue. But like fuck. Lindsay was on her own. "Nor did she appear this morning. My guess is that she's lying low somewhere hoping this will all blow over. But when she didn't care enough to show up and talk about things, I changed the locks. She won't get anywhere near the kids unless she asks to see them. And should she drag her ass home, she'll find that all over her belongings are now being stored in the garden shed."

Brian whistled low in appreciation.

"You know," he said, regarding Mel warily. "There are days that your vindictiveness terrifies the fuck out of me; usually when it's directed my way. But then there are days, like today, where I have to stand back in awe and pray I'm like you when I grow up." Brian paused and grimaced. "And I can't believe that I just said that; this shit is seriously fucking with my head."

"I promise not to tell anyone," Mel said, her smirk saying anything but; great, just what he needed. But he chose to ignore it and pretend she'd do just that.

"Thank fuck for that," Brian huffed, rolling his eyes when she just sniggered. "Like I need further damage to my reputation."

"What reputation?" Mel snorted.

"Ha ha, you're just so hilarious," Brian deadpanned as he turned on his heel to head to the house with Mel at his heels. He turned and looked over his shoulder. "And Melanie; do me a favor, and don't ever defend me again. My equilibrium is already reeling. I don't think I can handle you defending me to the world. It makes my skin crawl."

"Wouldn't dream of it, Asshole," Mel smirked, walking around him and into the door to gather the kids and their belongings.

"And the world rights itself," Brian huffed, slightly relieved that at least something was going back to normal; now if he could only get the rest of this shit to fall into line.

**… … … … …**

Brian sat in the study, staring at his untouched glass of Beam; he'd poured it about twenty minutes beforehand before realizing that, tense or not, it rally was much too early to be drinking. Plus, he wanted to have a clear head when he and Justin talked. He didn't need the alcohol loosening his control to the point that he said things he shouldn't.

It had been about an hour since Emmett, Mel and the kids had departed, and he and Justin had gone to their separate corners – he in the study, and Justin in his study – the both of them gathering their thoughts and gearing up for the conversation to come. Sadly, however, his thoughts no clearer than they'd been this morning.

He did know that Justin would come and find him when he was ready to talk however, so he was just letting his thoughts meander for now. They probably should have addressed it as soon as the others had left, but neither of them was eager to start when their first attempt had ended with harsh words and Brian fleeing, afraid he's say too much.

Tipping his glass to swirl the liquid in it, Brian startled when someone cleared their throat from the doorway. He set the drink aside and looked up, meeting troubled blue eyes as they flicked towards the glass and then back to him. Brian huffed and leaned back in his chair and watched as Justin hesitantly made his way into the room.

He hated this; he hated when they felt awkward around each other. It didn't happen often these days; they'd worked out a lot of the kinks in their relationship years ago when Justin first moved back from New York. That was why, when they did fall into this awkward area, it was much more pronounced and he felt all the worse for it.

It left him wanting to do nothing more than to pull Justin in his arms and promise him that everything would be okay; but if he were to do this now, they would never get through the talk that they needed to have. Instead they would bury it, where it would fester and then become all that much more poisonous when it was finally lanced.

"I thought we could talk," Justin said, twisting the cuffs of his sleeve as he came into the room; and even pensive and tired, with bruises under his eyes, Justin was still the most beautiful man that Brian had ever seen. And it was hard to hold himself aloof.

"That would be good," Brian said as he got up and headed for the couch; he wasn't going to have this conversation sitting at his desk as if Justin were a naughty student and Brian the judge, jury and executioner. That was a good way to have Justin clamming up. "I have a lot of questions here."

"I'd expect nothing less," Justin said, following him to the couch, careful to maintain a little distance so that they wouldn't get distracted. "I'll try to answer them for you."

Brian nodded and then pursed his lips thoughtfully, trying to put those still muddled thoughts into words. Justin chewed on his bottom lip, but waited patiently, if a tad nervously for Brian to put his thoughts together. He sighed and then plunged in.

"I'm trying to understand here, Justin," he said, tracing the faint lines on the couch. "But it's hard to do when I'm having trouble understanding your motives.

Justin opened his mouth to say something, but Brian just shook his head.

"And don't tell me it was because you were afraid that Lindsay would deny me access to Gus," Brian said, heading off that potential explanation before it could be given. "You and I both know what the contract says. You know the details of our support agreement should she ever try that bullshit again. She would never risk that cushy little financial settlement that allows her to swan around and pretend to be an up and coming mover and shaker in the art world."

Justin snorted at those words and cast a doubtful look Brian's way.

"I said pretending to be," Brian emphasized, as he too knew what a laughingstock Lindsay was in the art circles. It was only due to a few advantageous contacts that kept her on the fringes; and even they were drying up due to the Sam debacle. "We both know the truth. But that's neither her nor there. Why? Why would you keep this a secret? And more to the point, why would you continue keeping it a secret even after confronting her? Because I watched you after she left; I saw the look on your face. And you had no intentions of telling me anything."

Justin squirmed under his direct gaze and then took a deep breath.

"It was to protect you and Gus," Justin said, holding his hand up as Brain scoffed. "Because even if we were in the clear in terms of the custody agreement, there were other ways that Lindsay could have made life difficult. I didn't want this issue to pit us against each other, with Lindsay and Mel on one side and us on the other, and Gus and Jenny smack dab in the middle. Because the ones that would have suffered aren't the adults, it would be the kids."

And, okay, Brian could almost see that point; but it still didn't assuage the deep down feeling that there was more to this than met the eye. He knew Justin; and while he would definitely do what was necessary to protect those he loves, there was something in his eyes that told Brian to keep pushing until he got it all.

"Plus," Justin continued in his silence. "You'd been friends since college and I know how important she is…"

"I hate to break it to you, Sunshine," Brian immediately interrupted as he wanted ther to be no doubts just where Lindsay stood. "If you genuinely believe that, then you've not been paying attention. Because Lindsay is _nothing_ to me these days; even before this, she was at the bottom of the pack. In fact, the only reason she is currently a step above Michael is that he actually got you hospitalized and nearly caused irreparable harm to Sunbeam. Otherwise, Lindsay would be in that place. _No one_ messes with my son."

Justin sighed and looked away; Brian smirked, because he knew that he caught Justin on that one. And his husband didn't like it at all.

"Fine," Justin said, casting an annoyed look Brian's way. "Regardless of your friendship, or lack there of, the fact remains that she _could_ have done irreparable harm to you and Gus by trying to poison your relationship. And don't scoff at me. You know what she's like; yes, Gus is an intelligent and independent boy. But Lindsay is a manipulative bitch that has learned how to work everyone to get her way. Do you deny that she would have warped this entire situation to her favor?"

"I'm well aware of what a manipulative bitch Lindsay is," Brian said tightly, his temper slipping through a bit at those words; because did Justin truly take him for an idiot? "I have experienced it numerous times first hand, as has Gus. But that isn't an acceptable reason Justin. Had you told me this from the beginning, we could have confronted her and made her realize that crossing over a certain line has consequences."

"I…" Justin said before cutting himself off and looking away. Brian tried to keep his smugness in check as he knew that would just aggravate Justin and then they'd never get to the meat of the problem. But it looked as if Justin was stating to clam up, which meant it was time to come clean on his end.

"I'm still angry about this, Justin," Brian said, rubbing his hand across his brow. "For _you_ , it was because you were protecting me; for _me_ it's a matter of faith and trust. _Trust_ that I will be there to _support you_ without interference. _Trust_ that I won't fly off half-cocked and cause more damage. Would I have been angry to find that out? Yes, because I love you and that one of my so-called friends hurt you like this _guts me_." Justin looked stricken. "But it was about trusting _me_ , trusting _us_ to resolve this together."

"I do trust you," Justin protested, and then clamped his lips shut when Brian arched a skeptical brow. He was obviously annoyed by Brian's words, but Brian couldn't help the way he felt. To him it sounded very much like Justin hadn't trusted him. But then again, he had no room to talk since he was keeping secrets of his own.

"But I also realize that being angry about you keeping secrets is hypocritical of me since I haven't been exactly forthcoming in everything either," Brian said, steeling himself for the tempest to come; because he was about to get hit by Hurricane Justin for this.

"What do you mean?" Justin asked warily, a suspicious light entering his eyes.

"There have been some developments to the case," Brian said, cringing when Justin's eyes sharpened and his mouth pinched as if he'd been sucking a lemon. "Developments that seem to be dredging up the past."

"In what way?" Justin asked hesitantly, wondering where Brian was going.

Brian paused and tried to figure out how to approach the matter at hand; how do you tell your husband that the guy you were once fucking as a replacement for him was now likely an accomplice for the man that was stalking him? Fuck, it sounded like something out a dime store novel; how the fuck was this his life?

"Do you remember the time when you left with the fiddler?" Brian asked hesitantly and then snickered at Justin's incredulous stare. Because, okay, yeah, that was a stupid question, but it gave him the opening he needed. "What am I saying, of course, you remember. During that time, I wasn't dealing with your leaving very well."

Justin looked, frankly, skeptical; and he didn't blame him. Brian had gone back to his tricking and being the Stud of Liberty Avenue with a vengeance in those days in an effort to drown out the loneliness and hurt that he'd felt when Justin had walked off with Ian. He did his best to pretend it hadn't mattered each time he saw that together because he hadn't wanted anyone to see just how much he'd truly cared. And even though he'd since told Justin it was all a front, he still had his doubts.

"Yes, I know that I didn't show it," Brian huffed, scrubbing his hand through his hair. "But you had to have picked up on it. I mean honestly Justin, do you think that I didn't know any other artists that could have done the Carnivale poster? I was getting paid for that gig; I wasn't a volunteer as you well know. I could have paid one of the artists at Vanguard to take the job, or better, asked one of those bleeding hearts to contribute it. I did it because I wanted a link to you. I wanted you to stay in my sphere. I wanted a reason to talk to you, to be close to you. And I was pissed when Mikey showed up and interrupted us, because it felt so good having you there at my side where you belonged."

"Brian…" Justin whispered, his eyes wide; Brian chuckled self-deprecatingly. Yeah, he'd always been good at playing the game and hiding his feelings So well, that even the person he knew best was surprised by his confessions.

"Anyways," Brian said; he cleared his throat and continued, completely discomfited by what he was about to share. "I wasn't doing well, as I said. And I did something that I never told anyone about because I knew that it made me look weak and like a fucking pathetic pussy. But, I couldn't help myself."

"What did you do?" Justin asked, the wary expression back on his face.

"One night," Brian said, looking over Justin's shoulder at a unseen place on the opposite wall. "After the munchers party actually, I made a call to a service that I knew asking for a very specific person on their website."

"Okay," Justin said slowly, his brow furrowed with confusion. "But what does that have to do with…"

"I'm getting to that," Brian said a bit more harshly than he'd intended; and then grimaced and swiped a hand over his face when Justin looked surprised at the outburst. Fuck, this wasn't going to be easy. "This guy, Blaine, God…he could be easily be mistaken for you."

"For me?" Justin asked, a light beginning to dawn in his eyes. And Brian again, was surprised by that at all; his boy was sharp and it wouldn't have been much for him to put things together into a cohesive picture.

"Nearly identical," Brian said, a self-deprecating smile on his face; and he could kill for a drink right about now. "His features are not as refined, not as pretty for lack of a better word, as yours; but from behind, or at a distance, you wouldn't be able to tell a difference. Both Emmett and Ted have seen him, and Ted said that if he hadn't noticed that Blaine wasn't pregnant, he would have sworn it was you."

"Let me see if I'm getting this right," Justin said. "You ordered this guy and fucked him, pretending he was me?"

"Yes," Brian stated in a no nonsense voice; he'd never explained or justified his actions before and he wouldn't start now. "And not just once. I would hire Blaine maybe once every four to six weeks; when watching you, and missing you, and not being able to touch you got to be too much. It was less than ten times, but he fulfilled a need then. And I stopped once we reunited."

"Okay," Justin said, a weird expression on his face. "Um, I don't know what to say to that other than I'm glad that you got what you needed? But I'm still trying to figure out why this is important; because the past is the past, Brian, and…"

"Yeah the past is the past," Brian muttered, not realizing that he'd said it out loud; Justin's brow pinched and Brian continued. "If it stays there."

"What do you mean?" Justin asked, his eyes going a little spooked; likely because he was picking up on Brian's own unease.

"I recently found out that I'm not the only one that saw the likeness to you," Brian said; he rolled his lips under and looked at a decidedly more spooked Justin. "Nor am I the only one who hired Blaine in that capacity."

"Who?" Justin asked, his cheeks a shade paler than usual.

"We have reason to believe that your stalker has been with Blaine in the same way," Brian said, watching his husband carefully. "In fact, Blaine himself, although it's not his real name, was the one that called it in after an encounter with the stalker."

"What?" Justin gasped, his mouth slightly agape. "But he…what?"

Brian grimaced, knowing that it was only going to get worse before it got better.

"Blaine called Detective Nakumara and gave an anonymous tip about having been hired by this man that he believed to be the stalker. He said that he was calling it in because he had heard rumors about the loft and the gallery break-ins; and that he wanted to give them whatever information he had available to him."

"Well," Justin paused and looked around the room uncomfortably, his hands tightly squeezed together in his lap. "That's good, right? Any lead is a good lead, right?" And then he turned back to Brian when he didn't get an answer. "Brian?"

"There's more," Brian continued hesitantly, knowing this new information would likely send his Sunshine supernova. "Something more happened at your show opening."

"The drinks were drugged, I know," Justin said with a shrug, thinking that he knew everything about the incident.

"Yes, they were," Brian agreed. "Well, mine came back conclusively for GHB. Since yours was never found, we have no idea what was there." Justin paled further if that was at all possible. "But more importantly, the person…the bartender…Blaine was the bartender that night."

"What?" Justin asked hoarsely, his eyes the size of saucers; and Brian could see the wheels in his mind spinning as he tried to put things together with the limited information that he'd been given.

"He was there that night," Brian emphasized; and then he decided it was enough hedging on the subject. It wasn't going to get any easier if he tried to soften the blow. "They have him tending the bar on tape. So, it is very conclusive that he was there that night. He also left very quickly with a supposed family emergency after my drink was delivered to me. They have the waiter on camera delivering the drink. He took it straight from the bar to me with no stops or tampering. And, while they didn't get Blaine on camera putting anything into the drink, he was off in a corner taking longer than necessary making said drink when it should have been a simple pour."

Justin's mouth fell open and he stared at Brian utterly stunned by the information; which Brian used to his full advantage to press on and get the rest of the information out.

"They think he's more than an informant," Brian said with a frown. "Tak thinks he's an accomplice. He was acting very odd after the drink had been poured; and then there is the fact of his leaving, which could have been legitimate, but looks highly suspicious given what happened with my drink. On top of that, he gave Emmett a false address and there were issues with the social security number that he gave to Emmett. And when you go to that length to hide…nothing good comes from it."

"He…" Justin stammered; he shook hid head and then tried again, but couldn't seem to get his voice box working. "We…"

Justin snapped his mouth shut and pressed a hand to his stomach as he looked around and tried to put his thoughts in order. And then came the moment that Brian had been dreading; Justin stat up straight as a poker and narrowed his eyes, a faintly accusatory look on his face as he turned back to Brian.

"How long have you known about this?" he asked, his voice laced with angry suspicion.

"Justin…" Brian said, trying to figure out how to placate his now steaming husband; because as he said, his boy was sharp, and he would have been well aware that Brian couldn't have gotten this information in the past two days as, outside a few minor moments and when he was at Babylon last night, they'd been together. And Brian hadn't gotten any strange calls recently.

"How long, Brian?" Justin demanded a second time, his anger ratcheting up as he stood up from the couch, his arms crossed over his chest.

"I've known about the tip to the police since the tenth," Brian said, rolling his lips between his teeth; there was no reason to lie as he knew he was already in deep shit by not telling Justin right away. "And the rest I learned five days ago."

"So, you're telling me, that you've known of this Blaine's involvement for nearly two weeks and you haven't said shit to me!?" Justin said, starting in a chillingly calm tone and escalating in volume until he all but spat out the end. "And then, you find out that he could be a potential accomplice and you didn't come straight to me with the information? _What_ the _fuck_ , Brian?"

"What do you want me to say Sunshine?" Brian said, starting to get a bit angry himself; yes, he should have told him, but really, he didn't hae any room to talk when it came to keeping secrets. "Yes, I knew about it this long and yes, I kept it from you."

"And you have the nerve to get pissed at me for keeping secrets?" Justin sneered, waving his hand in emphasis at Brian, his other hand on his hip. "At least my secret couldn't potentially get either one of us hurt or killed!"

"And how do you know that, Sunshine!?" Brian demanded, narrowing his gaze at his now very pissed off husband; operation queen out commencing.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Justin spat, staring daggers at Brian for even daring to suggest that the situations were ever remotely alike.

"It means, Justin," Brian said in a very controlled, yet heated voice. "That Simon has a damned good reason for trying to get to you; not only are you one of the artists that got away, but you certainly haven't made it a secret that you are actively working against the further acquisition of his toys. To me, that's a pretty damned good motive for him wanting to harm or kill you."

"Simon is a bully," Justin scoffed, dismissing the other man with a careless wave of his hand. "He preys on those that are too weak to resist him; he would never get his hands involved with something like this as he is all about appearances and he…"

"Wouldn't have to do anything himself," Brian cut in, standing himself. "All he has to do is whisper into the right ear; you said it yourself – he has a whole network of people beholden to him that would do _anything_ for him." Brian glared at his husband and began to pace the length of the room as he pointed out to his very naïve just how serious this Simon situation could be. "All he has to do is mention how trying it's been with you thwarting his operations to one of his minions and they'd happily solve the problem for him! Whether they do it themselves or they hire someone, it doesn't matter. The end result is the same!"

Brian spun around and pinned Justin with a scathing look.

"This was vital information you were holding back, Justin! Information that could be beneficial to the case because you have made an enemy out of a powerful man!"

Justin gaped and then spun around; he shoved his hands through his hair, leaving it a chaotic mess as he now began to pace the length of the room. He was breathing deeply, taking in huge gulps of air as he tried to cool down.

"I…" Justin said, but then cut himself off when he couldn't seem to come up with a rebuttal; his expression soured and he huffed. "Okay, you may have a point. But I doubt it's him. This guy…my experiences with him tell me that this is not about revenge. He is too…soft. It's obsessive and fucking scary, but it isn't sinister."

"Not sinister?" Brian looked at his husband incredulously; because those words could not have just fallen out of Justin's mouth. "Justin, this guy drugged our drinks! Whether he did it himself or through an intermediary, it doesn't matter; I'd call that pretty fucking sinister! There was GHB in my drink for sure! And we've seen first hand what an overdose of that can do to a person! Given the unreliability of drugs and your allergies, this could be viewed as an attempt to impair us for whatever plot they had concocted at best and an attempted murder at worst!"

"Which is why you should have fucking told me about this as soon as you found out!" Justin spat furiously, getting up into Brian's face. He jabbed Brian in the chest. "How the fuck can I know what to watch for if I don't have all the pertinent information? Why didn't you tell me? You know how I feel about being in the dark!"

"Maybe because I didn't want to stress you out further, causing potential harm to Sunbeam?" Brian said, getting right back into Justin's face. "Or, maybe because I wanted you to enjoy your shower without all of this hanging over your head? Because I was hoping that they'd catch this guy after the showing and he'd be behind bars and away from you? Take your pick, Sunshine. They're all valid."

"They're not good enough, Brian!" Justin hissed, shoving his hair out of his face, his eyes full of blue fire as they stared up at Brian with indignation. "Fuck…"

"Yeah; you're right," Brian agreed, a mocking smile twisting his mouth as he stared down of his blond spitfire. "Sounds familiar though, doesn't it?"

"What?" Justin demanded, still completely pissed off.

"It doesn't feel so good, does it, Sunshine?" Brian asked with a knowing smirk; Justin narrowed his eyes. "Knowing that someone withheld information for your own good…"

"You…!" Justin spat, his eyes ablaze as he pointed at Brian. And then he jabbed Brian sharply in the chest. "You _asshole_! I…I need to go; because if I stay here, I will end up say something I might regret!"

Justin glared at him, spun on his heel and then stormed off, his footsteps heavy as they made their way towards his studio. Brian flinched when the door slammed shut, rattling a few of the nearby windows and then he slumped. Walking over to his desk, he sat down heavily into his chair and grabbed the drink he'd poured earlier, swirling its contents.

"Well, that went well," Brian huffed, slamming back the liquid, wincing as it burned its way down his throat and then set it aside as he leaned into the back of his chair. Sighing, Brian stared at the ceiling and wondered what the fuck to do now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BTW, I keep meaning to post these pictures and forgetting; but here are the castings for various people that have been mentioned in the story so far:
> 
> [Liam Doyle-Chanders](https://imgur.com/Y7iN46f) (Daphne’s Husband)  
> [Kian Doyle-Chanders](https://imgur.com/bvOQy0X) (Daphne’s Son)  
> [Elena Kobrick](https://imgur.com/9HjfVM2) (Hunters girlfriend or fiancée depending on who you ask)  
> [Louis Chapman](https://imgur.com/OHbfZ20) (Justin’s current protégé)  
> [Chad Zimmerman](https://imgur.com/Dc7jVTW) (Justin’s first protégé)


	91. March 23 (Part Two)

**March 23 (Part Two)**

Justin felt like an asshole.

His mother had called his expected reaction the day before, and rather than actually stopping and thinking, he'd proven that she had been right in spectacular form. Setting his brush aside, he stared at the piece – [Lies of Omission](https://imgur.com/TSXZWjk) –  in front of him; when he came into the studio, he'd been livid and needed an outlet. But he also knew that using pastels wouldn't be nearly as satisfying as the grip of a paint brush in his hand and paint slashing across canvas.

So, he'd broken out the left over natural paints from Sunbeam's room, pulled out a prepared canvas that he'd had stored away for such occasions, grabbed his brushes; and then, he'd just painted, using the colors he'd mixed to express what he was feeling.

The piece started out as one big block of red, bright and bold across the white of canvas, as bright as his fury at everything that had come crashing down on him the past few days – remembering Lindsay's betrayal and Simon's perverted plans; finding out that Brian had been hiding things from him; the emergence of this Blaine character, his doppelganger, who was doing his best to thwart their happiness; and one couldn't forget his ever present friendly neighborhood stalker, lurking in the shadows. It had all crashed down on him while he was talking to Brian in the study, leaving him seething in anger and with no outlet.

That was why, when Brian mentioned the new developments, something had just snapped inside Justin and he'd lost it, whether Brian had been deserving of it or not. And, yes; while Justin was still angry that Brian hadn't told him about the developments, he realized that his reaction had been over the top and more than a little hypocritical. But it was like he had been standing outside himself as it happened; and then the next moment he was storming away without resolving any of the things that he'd intended to when he'd first walked in.

And then, when he'd entered his studio, he knew that he needed to paint; for the entirety of his life, whenever he'd been emotionally overwhelmed, Justin had turned to art. Some people sang, some people wrote, others exercised or played sports, and still others turned to their vices. Justin painted; something that he'd stopped out of concern for Sunbeam. But that lack of expression had him so muddled and confused, that he hadn't known how to feel these days. And he'd desperately needed to get that equilibrium back.

So, paint he did, starting with the most predominant of his emotions.

Red, bright red, brilliant red, contradictory red – the color of anger, of passion, and fire; of war and danger and of spilled blood. Of love; a love that had sprung when he was barely a man grown and had thrived, flourished with every passing moment of his life with a bold, brash and brilliant man. It saturated the canvas, purging from his system in bold, sweeping strokes until there was nothing left, leaving him hollowed out.

And then he'd stood there, staring at that block of red, his temper slowly dissipating until it was just a slow simmer in the back of his mind. He'd always loved this color, despite its contradictory nature, because it was bold and eye-catching and passionate – an emotionally-intense color that vibrated on the canvas. It was powerful and energetic and erotic; it evoked courage and longing and will power.

He loved using it when he could, but often held back as it was not a passive color, and sometimes it felt far too revealing of himself and his nature.

Sighing, Justin had studied the canvas; after he'd bled all those passionate and prominent feelings onto the canvas, it gave him the chance to focus on his other emotions; the ones that lay underneath this distracting wash of rage and passion and, yes, even love. And then he'd picked up the red and yellow paints and mixed three different hues of orange for the next stage of his painting.

He had smiled as a memory flit through his head; he vividly recalled the day he told Brian and his client, years ago, when he was nothing more than an intern at Vanguard and trying to worm his way back into Brian's life, that orange was the new blue. He remembered telling them that it was the opposite of something cool, that it was hot. But, orange was much more complex than his simple explanation afforded at the time.

It too had a contradictory nature; which made sense since it was a blend of red, the color of the passions, and yellow, the color of joy.

When most people look at the color, they see it's bright, almost cheerful nature, which energizes and evokes the appetite. It was the yellow that did that. It was the color of enthusiasm and determination and creativity and happiness and success. It gave off the sensation of heat and made you think of tropical climes; it was highly visible and often a color that had an invigorating effect and stimulated mental activity.

Yet, in one of its brightest forms, it was also the color of warning and of potential hazards strewn in your path. And in some of its darker hues, ones heavy in red, it could evoke distrust and deceit, dominance and aggression, and the thirst for action. Yet it could also evoke desire, sexual passion and pleasure.

Justin started with a hazard orange, and dabbed it onto the canvas in areas, his skin crawling as he did so. This color represented so many things in his life, both past and present; but today it represented the most prominent threat in his life – his stalker and this Blaine character. The fact that they had both gotten so close to taking out both he and Brian, and potentially Sunbeam, made him sick to his stomach. And the very thought that Brian could have died…

Justin swallowed and continued painting, adding some red-orange and a lighter, muted orange, almost gold in areas as he saw fit. And then he'd left off, letting the paint dry a bit as he'd paced the room, trying to make peace with the emotions the painting drew out of him, a very necessary purge after holding it all inside all these years.

Lindsay's deception had cut him deeper than he'd wanted to acknowledge at the time; and it was something that he'd hidden under the seething anger when he'd found out. But it'd still been there, seeping poison and pain beneath the wall of ice that he'd surrounded it with; and he'd never really dealt with that betrayal. He'd just buried it. And that's what it had been on his side too – he had once thought of Lindsay as a friend and mentor. He'd thought that she'd always had the best of intentions in mind when she'd pushed his art. He'd never even suspected that there had been a much more sinister reason behind it.

To have that thrown in his face when he'd overheard Simon, it had broken his heart; and not just for him, but for Brian and Gus as well. They'd all believed in her at one time and he couldn't even begin to fathom how they all could have been so wrong, even with the custody case. He should have known better – a leopard can't change its spots.

So, when he'd learned that Brian had been keeping things from him, it had hit that recently purged sore spot and evoked an irrational reaction. He'll openly admit it, he overreacted to the news; he should have stayed and faced the consequences of his actions rather than running off to his studio and hiding from the truth. But faced with the Blaine information on top of far too many blows as it was, he couldn't deal with it.

Walking back over to his piece, Justin grabbed three last colors – blue, yellow and black – to put the final touches to it, starting with the blue.

Blue, cool blue, calming blue, soothing blue – a cerebral color, it was the color of trust and loyalty, of wisdom and intelligence, of faith and truth. Like the truth that had finally spilled from his and Brian's lips, leaving behind it the feeling of relief and sorrow. It had been necessary; and yes, it should have happened years ago, but now that it had, he felt as if a huge burden had lifted from his shoulders; but he had also been sad that it had come down to this – the two of them occupying different spaces rather than facing it together.

It was also the color of protection; an emotion that often had him and Brian holding things back in an effort to spare the other pain or worry. And it was also to blame for a lot of their problems; not in the sense that it was wrong of them to want to protect the other, but because it often led to them keeping secrets, their greatest downfall. And that was partially his fault; and it was partially Brian's fault. They were both right in their desires to protect, and they were both so very wrong in their execution.

Justin slashed the color across the canvas and then turned to a much more hopeful color – yellow, the color of joy and happiness, the color of sunshine and warmth, the color of cheer and hope. And he smiled because Justin couldn't help it, as it reminded him of Brian calling him Sunshine, and of their little Sunbeam. Both things filled him with such great joy despite all the stress in his life. And they also filled him with hope for the future. He knew that they'd work this out eventually and come back stronger than before.

And then he frowned, as he turned to the black; it was one color that he couldn't associate with anything other than ill intent. And for that reason, he used it sparingly, preferring to use the darker forms of other colors for shadows than a true stark black. But given the incidents that led him here, he couldn't complete this painting without its inclusion. As there was a definite taint, an evil, hovering in the background and drawing closer every day.

He shuddered as he recalled Kellie pulling him away from a tainted drink, and dabbed the black around the yellow, shadowing that happiness and joy because a drugged drink could have done irreparable harm to Sunbeam. He thought of the Lindsay's remorseless face and added it to the hazard orange in spots, bisecting it in thin lines. He thought of Brian potentially lying in a coma had he not held off on his GHB-laced drink, and splattered it throughout the blue, shadowing it with his stalkers ill will towards his husband.

And then he'd set his paints aside, stood back and stared, his throat clenching as he took in the painting. It made him feel uneasy in some aspects, due to its revealing nature; but it also left him feeling revitalized and ready to face the things that needed to be said and heard when he and Brian came back together. But he didn't think that the best place to address any of this was here. It was too easy for them to storm off into their safe havens.

They needed a neutral zone; an enclosed place that wouldn't allow them to stray too far without stumbling onto each other eventually and forcing them to talk things out. Most importantly, they needed some place where they wouldn't have to deal with the running interference of well-meaning, but nosy family members. And he was certain that he knew just the place to do all of this in if he could swing it.

They'd used this place a few times when they'd just needed to get away from the family and decompress; plus with the close quarters they would, hopefully, get their lips moving so that they could work beyond their anger and focus a game plan.

And, he admitted, it was also something he wanted to do in partial apology to his husband; one that would show Brian that he was really ready to talk about things. Justin supposed that he could just say all of these things aloud; but Brian had always been a man of action, and he'd always believed that actions spoke louder than words. Hopefully his husband would see, and appreciate, this gesture for what it was.

With that in mind, Justin picked up his phone and dialed a familiar number, waiting for it to connect; and then he startled slightly when a voice that he hadn't expected answered.

"Hey, Baby," Emmett chirped, but Justin could hear the worry underneath the other man's cheer. Justin sighed; he'd hoped that by calling Drew directly, he could miss the incoming inquisition. But obviously, the Fates weren't smiling on him today.

"Hey Em," Justin said a touch wearily, already dreading his friend's well-meaning nosiness; this was exactly what he wanted to prevent by getting away. He loved the family, but they were a bunch of busy bodies. And why everyone felt the need to butt their noses into his and Brian's relationship, he'd never know.

"How are you doing today?" Emmett asked, his voice laced with concern; and then he lowered his voice as if expecting to be overheard. "Did you and Big Bad work everything out?"

"I'm fine," Justin said, answering the first question, but refraining from addressing the second one as he and Brian were no closer to a resolution due to his own queen out.

"That doesn't sound very reassuring," Emmett huffed; Justin rolled his eyes at his friend's blatant ply for more information.

"No really, I  _am_  fine," Justin said firmly, trying to say without words that he didn't really want to discuss anything.

"If you're sure," Emmett said doubtfully; he paused and the pressed on. "You know I'm here if you need to talk."

"I know, Em," Justin said in a gentle tone; and he did appreciate the offer, but right now he wanted to talk to Emmett's other partner-in-crime, so that he could get the ball rolling on his plans. "Can we talk about it later? I really need to speak to Drew if at all possible."

"Yeah, he's here," Emmett huffed, obviously realizing he wasn't going to get anything more out Justin.

"Can you put him on for me?" Justin asked; and then smirked when he heard Emmett's long, drawn out and pained sigh. He shook his head at his friend's dramatics. "I promise that things will make more sense after I talk to him."

"Okay, Baby," Emmett huffed again; and Justin could hear a door opening ana closing in the background. "Just give me a moment."

Justin nodded as he heard a clatter, and assumed that Emmett had set the phone down; likely in another attempt to gather more information from Justin. After all, if Drew had to come into the room, he was more likely to stay there, wherever Emmett had been sitting; and then Emmett could piece together information based on Drew's side of the conversation. His friend was far too predictable some days.

"Hey, Justin," Drew said as soon as he picked up the phone. "What can I do for you?" And then he paused and huffed out an annoyed sigh. "Just a minute. No…stop…Emmett, go sit down; I'll tell you about it later." Justin snorted as there was another pause and a voice in the background. "No, I am not putting it on speaker phone. I'm going into the office and I'll tell you about it  _later_. Nosy Queen. Alright, I'm back."

"Thanks for that," Justin huffed a laugh. "I love him, but this needs to be solved between Brian and me without outside interference."

"I get you," Drew said, a hint of amusement in his voice. "So, what can I do for you?"

"Do you remember that trip that Brian and I took immediately after I moved back to Pittsburgh?" Justin asked, purposely leaving it vague just in case Emmett was attempting to listen in despite being told to butt out.

"Yes," Drew chuckled, well aware of the time he talking about since Justin had been complaining to Drew one night about people always showing up at the loft and interrupting his and Brian's alone time. "As I recall you pissed a lot of people off when you two took off for three weeks without telling anyone where you were going."

"They  _still_  haven't figured out that it was you that helped us escape," Justin snickered, making the other man laugh. Drew had been pivotal in, not only their escape from Pittsburgh, but he actually had owned their means of escape.

"Let's keep it that way," Drew huffed, and Justin could almost see the other man rolling his eyes. "I really don't need them on my doorstep all pissy because I helped you two get the 'honeymoon' that you needed before dealing with the family."

"My lips are sealed," Justin promised, and then he chewed on his bottom lip. "And on that note, I was hoping to employ your services once again."

"You want the same thing?" Drew asked immediately, his tone sobering as he'd likely put things together. "Can you even take that much time off."

"Oh, not for three weeks," Justin said, waving it off; as much as he'd like to get away for that long, it wasn't practical. Brian had been taking too much time off as it was. "We can't afford that kind of time away; I was thinking more like leaving here tonight, staying there and then using it for the day before coming back home tomorrow night."

"That's possible," Drew said, sucking on his lip thoughtfully. "You're lucky that I used it recently; usually I have it stored away this time of year. Let me make a couple of calls and I'll get everything worked out for you."

"Thanks Drew," Justin said, relieved to hear that it was possible. He did know that this was a little early to be using it, but he wanted some place contained. "I just think we need a change of scenery and a neutral space to work out all the lingering issues."

"And most importantly, to get away from everyone else while you do it," Drew huffed, knowing the true reason for Justin wanting to get the fuck out of Dodge.

"That too," Justin agreed.

"Give me an hour or so," Drew said. "And then I'll call or text you with the details."

"Thanks Drew," Justin sighed in relief, and started putting up his paints, cleaning his brushes and straightening the surrounding area so he could focus on the potential trip. "I appreciate it."

"Not a problem," Drew said. "Talk to you soon."

Justin hung up and then immediately dialed a second number as he opened the studio door; he strode towards the bedroom, noting that that the study door was closed as he passed. He sighed, and entered the room, putting on as much of a happy face as he could muster once the phone had finally been picked up.

"Ted; hey, it's Justin. Ha ha; smart-ass. Yes, I'm well aware that you have caller ID. Look, I just wanted to call and tell you that Brian won't be in tomorrow. We're calling a personal day. It shouldn't be too bad as I know he deliberately kept this week light due to the shower and Leo being in town. Great. We'll see you on Tuesday."

And then Justin hung up the phone and tossed it onto the bed as he walked into their closet. He pulled out a small, carry-on suitcase and swiftly packed their toiletries and a couple of changes of clothing each for them; and then set it aside before going off to find Brian.

**… … … … …**

Justin huffed; once he had finished packing, he'd gone to the study to talk to Brian, only to find the door open and the man nowhere in sight. That had then led to a search that had taken Justin throughout the entire house for his missing husband and he still hadn't turned up hide nor hair of him; and Justin knew that Brian had to be somewhere on the property as his car was still n the garage.

That had led him right back where he started; well almost where he'd started his search. But it did lead him back upstairs, just in the opposite direction and back into his studio. It was the only other place Brian could be unless he'd gone for another walk on the property; and Justin seriously doubted that. An outdoorsman Brian was not.

Stepping into his studio, Justin froze when he found his husband standing in front of his newest painting, a pensive frown on his face. Well, he knew that Brian would see it eventually. Squaring his shoulders, Justin crept up behind him; although, he wasn't intentionally being sneaky; he knew that his husband had been aware of his presence from the moment he stepped over the threshold. But he was curious as to what Brian saw when he was looking at the painting and he didn't want to interfere with his examination of it.

"Still mad at me?" Brian asked, looking over his shoulder with an unreadable expression; Justin huffed and didn't know how to answer that question.

"Yes…no…not really?" Justin hedged, trying to find a way to best explain his jumbled emotions. Even though the painting had helped him gain a little perspective, he was still struggling to put his emotions all in their place.

"You look like you're still mad," Brian hummed, looking back at the painting with a sigh.

Justin sighed as well, because he could see where Brian might have gotten that impression based on the composition. He stared at the painting, which as always, revealed things even he hadn't realized about himself. Yes, anger was the predominant emotion driving the painting, but was it anger at Brian? Or was it anger at the situation they'd found themselves in? Or even more deeply buried, was it anger at himself?

Brian looked over his shoulder as Justin sighed with frustration; he arched a brow and waited for Justin's response. And while that was something that further irritated and frustrated him, Justin knew that he owed Brian a response.

"Right now, I think I'm mostly mad at myself," Justin said a bit hesitantly; Brian's eyebrows shot up in surprise as if he hadn't expected that answer. Justin huffed. "Not that you're completely off the hook about Blaine and the recent updates; but being mad at you would be hypocritical given everything I held back as well."

"Why mad at yourself?" Brian asked, genuinely puzzled by Justin's answer.

"Mom called it yesterday," Justin explained with a self-depreciative smile.

"Called what?" Brian asked when Justin paused, trying to decide how much of his and his mother's conversation to impart. And then he decided to tell Brian all of it as he deserved to know he had his mother's support.

"She got on my case about keeping everything from you; for not telling you myself when it happened," Justin said, walking over to the chaise.

He smiled when he saw the plate of Twinkies, fruit and whipped cream that was obviously meant to be a peace offering from Brian. He turned and smiled at Brian, his heart fluttering that even angry this man was taking care of him. Brian blushed and looked away, but not before he saw the lingering surprise on his face.

"Don't look so surprised," Justin said as he sat down on the chaise and picked up the plate. "She's championed you before when I was being particularly dense about something; wanting to only see my side when I should have been putting myself into your shoes."

"And it surprises me every time," Brian said as he walked over to the chaise; he sat behind Justin, giving him the back support that he needed. Justin leaned back into his arms and closed his eyes, just happy to be there as Brian pressed his lips to Justin's temple. "You're her baby; it's only natural that she'd side with you."

"Brian, my mother is well aware of my flaws," Justin snorted. "She does not always side with me. She will support me. She will show a united front when it's needed. But if she felt that I was in the wrong, she would tear into my ass later. WASP, remember?"

"You guys have the oddest rules sometimes," Brian complained not for the first time. "I'll never fully understand that mentality."

" **I**  don't even understand that mentality sometimes," Justin said as he pulled away and tipped his head back to look at his husband in the eyes. "And I was raised in that environment." They both chuckled, and then Justin sighed. "We're getting off topic."

"We do that far too easily," Brian agreed, rolling his lips under.

"She pointed out," Justin continued as he picked at his fruit. "That if the roles had been reversed, and it was Daphne that did this to you…"

"Daphne would never do that," Brian automatically defended, and then grimaced when Justin gave him an exasperated look; not that Justin wasn't grateful for Brian's staunch defense of his best friend, but that wasn't the point he was trying to make. Brian mimed zipping his lips. "Sorry, you were saying?"

"That if it were Daphne that did it to you," Justin continued, his lips turning down pensively. "And you hadn't told me, but I found out from others, or in a similar setting, that I would queen out ten times worse than you had." Justin paused and grimaced. "And she was right. That's exactly what happened when you told me about Blaine."

"You have every right to be angry at me, Sunshine," Brian said, not about to let Justin take the full blame; which Justin appreciated, even if it wasn't necessary. He could own up to his mistakes. "I was keeping things from you too. Emmett  _was_  right to call me on my hypocrisy. No matter my excuses, I should have come clean in the beginning."

" _And_  I should have done the same," Justin added, slightly amused that they both were now trying to shoulder the blame. "I look back now and all of those reasons that I used to bolster my decision - they were just excuses." Justin swallowed thickly. "The truth was, deep down, there  _was_  this niggling fear that, while you'd initially be unhappy, you'd let it go as you've done before. Or, that you might not believe me at all. And that wasn't fair to you, because while you may have held off while you gathered evidence, you've never outright accused me of being a liar."

"I've implied it," Brian said, referring to the time with Ethan, where Brian had engineered that little scene between the three of them in the diner, meant to show Justin that he was very well aware of what he had been doing behind his back.

"I  _was_  lying to you then, Brian," Justin huffed, not wanting to get into that particular time; Ethan was a mistake he'd prefer to leave in the past, when Justin had been more in love with the idea of being in love with Ethan than anything else. "You just let me know that you were aware of it."

Brian hummed and fell silent; as did Justin since he didn't know where to go from that point. There were so many things they needed to discuss, and not nearly enough time to address them all in if he wanted to get on the road at a decent time tonight.

"Are you still mad at me?" he asked hesitantly; but this, he needed to know. He didn't want Brian to be confined in a small place. Well, a smaller place, if he was still pissed off at Justin. That never ended well. Although, he was pretty sure that by his current actions, Brian had let go of a lot of his own anger.

"Yes…a bit," Brian said, honest and blunt as ever; Justin hadn't expected him to be otherwise. He knew that he'd fucked up by keeping the Simon debacle a secret. "I'm not  _as_  angry as when I started, but it still hurts that you didn't confide in me three years ago."

"How do you know…" Justin asked, and then huffed when Brian arched a brow.

"That it was about three years ago?" Brian finished, and then huffed a laugh. "It wasn't that difficult to figure out once I had all the pieces, Sunshine. That was when you started mentoring Chad. And your dislike for Simon intensified into utter loathing."

"Yeah, I suppose you're right," Justin said, cringing as he thought back to that time period. He had been incandescent with rage; and truth be told, Justin's decision to mentor Chad had very little to do with the kid's actual talent and everything to do with sticking it to Simon. "I wasn't hiding my feelings very well during that time."

"You shouldn't have felt the need to, Justin," Brian chided, casting a censorious look his way. "You  _should_  have  _trusted_  that I would be there no matter who was involved."

Justin ducked his head and flushed; he knew that was Brian's true sticking point when it came to the Simon issue. And he didn't blame Brian one bit for being angry and hurt; trust was paramount in any relationship. And keeping secrets, even to spare the feelings of the people you love, could destroy that fragile trust in seconds.

Brian sighed and continued to make his point.

"Lindsay lost a lot of ground with me when she became the catalyst in your move to New York; not to mention following that by taking my son to another country without a care to what either he or myself felt about it. And she knew it. Why do you think she started acting the way she did? She was trying to pull me back into line; only it backfired on her. It made me wary and suspicious of her motivations.  _That_  was the reason I put a detective on her. Something wasn't adding up and I needed to know what she was doing."

"I'm surprised you didn't learn of her involvement with Simon then," Justin murmured, and couldn't help but wonder why that hadn't been. Surely Lindsay must have taken a trip or two to see Simon during that period of time; they'd seemed thick as thieves back then.

"As am I," Brian admitted, and then shrugged. "But, at the same time, I'm not. As you pointed out not long after, she'd really fucked herself over when she slept with Sam Auerbach. That incident tainted her image in the art world, and from what little I know of Simon, I doubt he'd want her around his other guests."

It was Justin's turn to hum this time as they fell silent. He picked at the fruit, not really all that hungry, but knowing that he needed to eat something as breakfast had been hours before and he'd missed lunch as he'd been too wrapped up in his painting. Setting the plate aside, Justin turned his body to face Brian.

"I do trust you, Brian," he said, biting his lower lip as he reached up and cupped Brian's jaw, rubbing his thumb against his husband's cheek. Brian rolled his lips under and stared down into Justin's face. "I just…it was…"

"A knee-jerk reaction?" Brian guessed when Justin had trouble putting the feelings into words; and while that explained it in a way, it didn't fully cover it.

"Sort of?" Justin said with a helpless shrug. "I just knew that this was going to hurt you; both you and Gus for that matter, and I wanted to spare you that. And yes, there was a little fear involved that you would get angry at what I told you. It really hadn't been that long befoe that you would have, not jumped down my throat when I criticized Michael or Lindsay, but definitely would have made your displeasure known."

"But I still would have listened, Sunshine," Brian said; and Justin couldn't help looking shamefaced at that because he knew that Brian was right. "I may not have liked what I was hearing. And I might have even hoped that you were wrong; not because I doubted you, but because I would have hated what that said about the mother of my son and someone I once saw as a great friend. But, I would have listened; and I would have looked into it. We could have solved this years ago if you had just told me about it."

"I know," Justin sighed, looking away from Brian; he took a deep, shaky breath and tried to stave off the tears prickling behind his eyes, but wasn't very successful when one rolled down his cheek.

Fucking hormones; they were killing him.

Brian sighed and grabbed his chin, turning his face back towards him. He slid his hand up and wiped the tear away before pulling Justin into his arms and resting their heads together. "We can't keep doing this, Sunshine. Keeping secrets to protect the other is what has  _always_  weakened us in the past. We are stronger when we work together."

Justin nodded. He closed his eyes, smiling a little when Brian pressed his lips to his brow. He was feeling tired, and hoped that Drew would get back to him soon, so that they could get on their way. He really wanted to get to bed early if at all possible tonight. Sighing, he perked up when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Reaching in, he pulled it out, entered the security code and smiled at the message. And then he looked up at Brian.

"You up for a car trip?" Justin asked, grinning up at his obviously confused husband.

"That all depends, Sunshine," Brian said slowly, arching a brow.

"I thought we might get out of here for the night," Justin said; he rolled his lips under and then continued. "And tomorrow as well; I talked to Ted and asked him to clear your schedule. We would come back tomorrow night. I just thought it would be nice to get away for the night, settle things between us and decide our next step now that everyone knows,  _away_  from all interfering busy bodies in our lives."

Brian stared down at him, his eyes full of questions, ones that Justin had no intentions of answering just now; Brian would figure it out soon enough once they were on the road. Brian huffed, but did smile, and this time it reached his eyes as he kissed the tip of Justin's nose and murmured.

"I'd love nothing more, Sunshine."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The painting is by Darrell Wahlsrom and unfortunately didn't have a title attached to it; the artist just mentioned wanting to put his/her emotions to canvas.


	92. March 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I tried writing this installment all day yesterday; for hours I sat there and stared and wrote and rewrote the first four paragraphs and just couldn't get the vignette to flow. Finally at 3 a.m., I gave up and decided to try again in the morning. So today (or well, Friday) I scrapped it all, and made one minor change to the scene in the first paragraph. In the first attempt, I had Brian leaning against the rail and Justin sitting. My muse did not like that all and refused to cooperate. As soon as I had them sitting together, it all came together. I guess my muse was done with their fighting as much as I was. So, sorry for the delay and I hope you enjoy this one.

**March 24**

Brian leaned back into the deck chair and smile, Justin firmly secured between his legs as they stared out at the ocean; it was cold as fuck out, leaving him and Justin buried under several blankets, but the sunset had been far too spectacular to miss. He stared out at the surprisingly smooth water, spread out for miles on all sides of the yacht, and was thankful once again that Justin had made arrangements with Drew to get them out of Pittsburgh and onto their 'honeymoon' [yacht](https://imgur.com/GKOG7sj).

Not that he had been at first.

He had to admit, that when Justin had first suggested that they leave Britin and head for neutral territory before they tried talking again, he had been more than a little skeptical. It had already taken them three tries before they could manage to say anything with out screaming at each other; he really hadn't seen how switching venues would make a difference when it came to resolving all the issues between them.

If anything, he had been worried that it would be more of a hindrance than a blessing given their penchant for 'discussing' their issues very loudly; and he'd been uncomfortable with the thought of trying to do so in an impersonal hotel room. Even if they'd managed to snag a suite at this late date, the mere thought of potential neighbors being around to overhear them hash out their grievances had made him cringe. They'd done enough airing of their dirty laundry.

At the same time, Brian had also been feeling stifled in their house, and needed a breather himself, so he'd put himself into Justin's hands and cautiously agreed to his plans. He'd just been so glad that they weren't yelling for once, and actually listening to what the other had to say rather than talking at each other, that he would have agreed to travel into hell itself at that moment. And he hated his mother.

It wasn't until they were on the road and headed for their destination that he'd gotten an inkling of Justin's plans, and then he'd felt like an ass; he should have known the sentimental twat would never go for something so plebian and impersonal as a hotel room. Justin had always planned big when he was trying to make a statement. Sort of like when he let Brian know that he would always be the only man for him.

When he pulled up to the marina, and walked down to where Drew's yacht was docked, a busy hive of people around it stocking everything they could possibly need, and likely a lot they hadn't, something tight inside had loosened, had uncoiled and he felt like he could breathe again. He looked over at a hesitant Justin and kissed him softly on the temple; a smile of relief spread across Justin's face ass he tangled their fingers together.

He grabbed their case and tugged Brian down the walkway with an enthusiasm that made Brian laugh; he'd tugged him into the [master suite](https://imgur.com/MrE3YIw) cabin they were using, if anyone could call this thing a cabin. It was so ridiculously over the top luxurious that even Brian, who always wanted the best things surrounding him in his life, (after all, he had Justin), had winced and called Drew a prima donna.

It was beautiful though, and [the view](https://imgur.com/ccMG0yn) from the room was spectacular, so he couldn't complain. Plus the [bathroom](https://imgur.com/RTkQC8r) was more than worth the extravagant price tag he was certain that Drew paid for it. But he digressed.

As soon as they'd gotten into the room, they'd set their problems aside for the evening and were all over each other, just like their first night over five years ago, the first time they'd shared this room. Of course, things were different now. Justin's pregnancy alone made things interesting; but he'd always been up to a challenge.

They'd made love deep into the night; with the yacht gently pulling away from the shore at a time he couldn't quite pinpoint, but somehow knew as he could feel the strain and stress slip away with every kiss, and touch, and slide of skin, as well as every mile they put between themselves and land. And then they had fallen asleep next to each other, with Brian getting the best night's sleep he's had since Justin's show opening.

This had been exactly what they needed to get back onto solid ground; even if hadn't been smooth sailing the entire time they had been on it. That was to be expected however given the number of unresolved issues between the two of them.

They'd woken up the next morning, refreshed, and had a fantastic breakfast on the [balcony](https://imgur.com/5VcrhYy)outside their bedroom, brought to them by one of the crew that had made themselves mostly invisible this trip; likely warned away by Drew. It left them recharged and ready to face their problems, so they'd adjourned to the [sitting room](https://imgur.com/Y9jCBou).

And there they had sat down, paced, and hashed things out to the best of their abilities, including getting into yet another minor argument; or as Justin would term it, a heated discussion that sent Justin storming off to the kitchens and Brian off to the gym. They'd spent the next hour fuming, with Justin talking the chef's ear off as he defiantly gorged on Twinkies, (Brian could tell because he could taste the cream lingering in Justin's mouth when they'd kissed and made up), and Brian working off some steam on the treadmill and the rowing machine.

And then they came back together in the sitting room, with Brian immediately pushing a still tense Justin up against one of the windows. He slowly took his husband apart with his lips and teeth and tongue until Justin was a hissing, writhing mess, demanding to be fucked right the fuck now unless Brian wanted to get thrown onto the floor and ridden as if his life depended on it. So, Brian dared him to go ahead and try it.

Best decision ever as his twat had risen to the occasion in more ways than one. He really didn't even mind the bruise he'd likely have on his shoulder from hitting the ground when Justin had sent him toppling over; and then he'd climbed on top of Brian as if he were a prized stallion at the rodeo and rode him until they were panting and shaking and utterly sated, lying next to each other in a sweaty heap.

They'd lay there, replete and naked as the day they were born, and talked out the remaining issues until they'd reached, if not a satisfactory resolution, at least they'd come to a truce. That really was the best they could hope for given their lingering hurt feelings; the rest would be worked out over time.

Was it all that surprising? They'd always done their best work when they were naked.

Shifting in his seat, Brian pulled Justin further into his arms, and buried his face into his hair; he inhaled, sighing when the scent of sandalwood and citrus filled his senses. God, he'd always loved the way Justin smelled. Pressing a kiss onto the top of his head, Brian let himself think about the conversation they had after lunch.

 

_"So where do we go from here?" Justin asked, his naked body sadly hidden from view by the sheet covering him to his chest; he was curled up on his side, staring up at Brian, who also was lying on the bed next to him, his head propped up on one hand._

_"I can't let this go, Sunshine," Brian said, tangling their fingers together on the bed between the two of them. "Not with Lindsay; not with Simon. I get that you have been thwarting them the best you can; but, something more permanent needs to happen. It isn't right what they are doing to these artists."_

_"But what can we do?" Justin huffed, falling onto his back, taking Brian's hand with him so that both of their hands were resting on his baby bump. "As I said before, it's not like he's drugging them or holding them against their will like Sap was; they go into these parties knowing full well of what is expected of them."_

_Brian huffed as well, and scoot closer, grabbing a pillow to prop him up as he stared down into Justin's face, which was still flushed from their last bout of lovemaking. And God, that he could even say that without cringing these days still struck him as odd. He ran his hand over Justin's stomach, smiling when Sunbeam seemed to kick in approval._

_And then he sighed; he knew that Justin was right to a degree, but he couldn't let this slide; not when this asshole had tried to hurt his Sunshine. It didn't matter that Justin was far too smart to fall for his bullshit; all that mattered was that he and Lindsay had attempted it, and for that they had to pay the consequences._

_"And yes," Justin continued when Brian didn't say anything. "It's morally wrong to hold their careers over their heads, and it is sexual harassment, but how do you prove it? It's not like they work for Simon; he just introduces them to 'the right people' and those people take it from there. And these kids won't talk. They don't want the backlash associated with coming forward."_

_But Brian just couldn't look at it that way._

_"There has to be a way," he disagreed, pressing their linked fingers against Justin's mouth when he made to protest. "His actions are abominable; bring that to light and he will become a pariah. People won't want to touch him with someone else's dick."_

_Justin sighed, and ran his free hand through his hair; he rolled his lips under in that way where he was trying to hold something back. Brian arched a brow; there was no way that he was going to allow any more secrets between them at this point. It's what always got them into trouble in the long run. Justin sighed again._

_"Brian, people know," Justin said, an unhappy frown pulling at his lips; Brian rubbed his thumb across Justin's cheek. "It's the worst kept secret in the business; they've taken a don't ask, don't tell approach to it. As long as they can claim that they don't have any actual proof, only rumor and innuendo, they'll turn a blind eye and deaf ear to it."_

_"I think you're seriously underestimating of lot of things, Sunshine," Brian opined, shaking his head when Justin scowled and went to protest once more. "One of those being your own pull in the art world." Justin paused, a thoughtful expression on his face as he considered Brian's words. "You are currently its darling; that's why Simon is reluctant to blatantly move against you. He knows that if he tried to take you on, he'd lose all credibility; especially with the way he talked you up in his article."_

_"And?" Justin asked, raising his brows; but his husband couldn't help looking a little smug at those words; and he should be. Justin had worked hard to get to this point._

_Brian grabbed his pillow and plopped down on it in order to get more comfortable, still facing Justin, their faces only inches a part as Justin turned his head. He tucked his free hand under the pillow to support his head as he turned more fully onto his side. Justin grabbed a pillow and then rolled on his side to face Brian; and then he stuffed the pillow under his belly for support._

_"And what would to happen if you," Brian said, running his fingers through Justin's hair. "And those like you, successful artists, with faithful followings, were to boycott anyone that subscribed to that mentality? What if you refused to do openings for these galleries that support Simon's little games? What if you refused to go to these influential backers parties? Or you won't talk to a particular reporter or patron because of their links to Simon? And what if it wasn't just you, but your entire little band of artists?"_

_Justin chewed his bottom lip, still looking a bit uncertain, but a new spark of determination was dawning in his eyes at the same time. So, Brian went in for the kill._

_"How long do you think they'll remain blind to what's happening when it ultimately hurts their pocket books?"_

_Justin hummed, but Brian could see his mind already at work, thinking of all the possibilities, working out angles and potential allies in his little coup. Brian smirked, knowing that anything Justin put his mind to it was nearly a done deal; he's always been a persuasive little twat and was like terrier with a bone when he latched onto a project. Simon's goose was already cooked and he didn't even know it._

_"I guarantee you, Sunshine," Brian continued. "You get a large enough band of outraged artists, and pit them against these assholes that are looking the other way; faced with the prospect of decreasing sales and prestige when people go to other galleries and parties and whatnot, they aren't going to back Simon for long."_

_"That could work," Justin said slowly, his hand cradling Sunbeam. He winced and then rubbed at a particular spot, and Brian guessed the Sunbeam was probably awake and kicking right now. "Provided that we can get enough artists to agree to it."_

_"I have no doubt that you can, Sunshine," Brian said, letting go of Justin's hand to rub his stomach. "You are nothing if not persistent and can talk the most stubborn person around to seeing things your way. I should know."_

_"I'll think on it and talk too a few people," Justin muttered, his mind already miles away figuring out all the logistics. "Get their opinions, see if it's plausible." He paused and looked up at Brian. "What about Lindsay?"_

_"You leave Lindsay to me," Brian stated firmly, a grim smile on his face; he was still having a heard time with what she'd done to both Justin and himself. He'd thought that he'd resolved all this shit years ago, only to find out that there were layers to the situation that he hadn't known about._

_"Brian…" Justin said, an irritated moue on his face._

_"No, Justin." Brian said, again keeping his tone firm, so that Justin wouldn't try to talk him out of it. "This is something I should have handled a long time ago; you will have your hands full with the Simon thing. Lindsay has been pushing me for a while and I haven't been as firm as I should have been. I guess a small part of me kept hoping my Wendy would emerge from the harridan that has taken her place. That all died the day I watched the two of you fight and she admitted to trying to sell you out to Simon."_

_And it had. Any small spark of hope that Brian had been holding inside that Lindsay would one day wake up and realize that she actually had a pretty damned good life had ended the moment he'd seen the hatred in her eyes when she looked at Justin. There was no way in hello that he'd let someone like that stay in his life._

_Not even te mother of his firstborn._

_"I've threatened to implement my safeguards a couple of times," Brian continued with a frown. "But I never followed through, hoping that she'd back off so I wouldn't have to go through with it. Only now, she's getting cocky again, thinking I won't actually do it. She mistook my lingering fondness of the girl I knew in college, and not wanting to hurt Gus by cutting her out of our lives, for me being weak and under her spell. Well, it's time she realized that her pull over me ended years ago, when a stubborn, blond twat stood under a streetlamp, completely tipping my world on its axis."_

_Justin smiled that Sunshine bright smile that had always made Brian melt into a puddle of goo and had him moving heaven and hell to give the twat anything and everything he wanted. And he knew it as well; which is why he'd used it on Brian in his studio yesterday to convince Brian to go away. Manipulative brat. And then he sobered._

_"And Blaine?" Justin asked, shivering as he said the name; Brian wrapped his arm around him and pulled him close. He didn't blame Justin for being creeped out by this guy. Brian himself shuddered every now and then remembering the time he'd been involved with him; he hoped that his actions hadn't painted a target on Justin's back._

_"Blaine is trickier," Brian hedged, running a hand up and down his husband's back. "I hate to say this, as I hate inaction; but I don't think there is anything we can do at this point. We have no idea where this asshole is or his motivations. The best we can do is just keep our eyes open and let the police handle it. I know that Tak has working on this every free hour he can get."_

_Justin nodded._

_"Are you going to tell him your suspicions on Simon," he asked, his eyes growing heavy even as he tried to hold on long enough to finish their conversation._

_"Yes," Brian said firmly, ignoring Justin's exasperated huff; Brian shook hi head. "No more secrets, Sunshine. He needs to know that this guy has reason to silence you since you've been nothing but a thorn in his side since the day you met. And let's face it; you were the one that got away."_

_"I'm not the only one," Justin pointed out; and Brian did have to concede that point._

_Between Justin and his friends, several artists had been pulled from Simon's grasp before anything to egregious could happen. But that wasn't why Justin was still a prize in Simon's eyes. Justin hadn't just been convinced by those older and wiser than himself to stay away; he'd resisted the so-called temptation on his own. He had built a career on his own with nothing but sheer determination and hard work. He was the darling of the art world, and people listened when Justin spoke. And that made him dangerous to people like Simon, who were in love with their own power, yet terrified some new, young thing will come into the game and knock them from their pedestal._

_"No, but you were the first that slipped his net," Brian said, trying to explain to Justin just where Simon and Lindsay had gone wrong with him. "Lindsay for some reason saw your drive as an artist and mistook your need to succeed as 'a desperation to succeed.' She should have known better; you've never been someone to fall into line and cow to another's whims or demands. She'd become blinded by what she thought she saw in you, rather than what was really there. It was her downfall."_

_Brian blew out a harsh breath. He'd had a long time to think about this during his walk yesterday, as well as the time he'd spent brooding in his office; and he'd come to the realization that Lindsay had expected Justin to do what he'd always done – refuse any kind of help from Brian and insisting he do it all by himself. It was one of the traits that Brian loved about Justin – his stubborn, independent nature. It was also the thing that annoyed him the most as it often put Justin in a vulnerable position._

_So, when Justin planned on leaving, Brian had put his foot down when he started making noises about finding his own place and seeing if he could find work at a bar or a diner somewhere; and he'd told his Sunshine that there was no way in hell was that happening. If he thought for even one second that Brian was going to sit there worrying about him night after night, wondering if this was the night some asshole broke into his apartment and robbed him blind or worse, he was delusional._

_So, he'd made him a deal; Brian would take him on as an independent contracted artist, who would work with Brian exclusively; and in return, Justin would be his eyes and ears in the city. And if Brian had worked in a few added bonuses into the fine print of the contract…well, that what happens when you don't read it all the way through._

_"She also didn't expect you to be so well off when you went there," Brian said, his eyes growing dark with anger. "I'm sure that she thought you'd be living in a crappy apartment in a crappy neighborhood with little to no studio space, working three jobs to make ends meet. She didn't expect me to take you on as a freelance artist; and she certainly didn't expect me to work a studio and an apartment into your contract as a side benefits to your employment."_

_"That was particularly sneaky of you," Justin huffed, now only mildly annoyed that Brian had done that; at the time though, he'd had a very livid Sunshine pounding on his door._

_Not that Brian had cared; he'd just stared at Justin with a bland smile and told him that he had signed the contract and now he had to live with it. And if it bothered him so much, that Brian was happy for him to pay it back in trade. That had been rather inspiring of him if he did say so himself; as Justin had growled and then taken out his frustrations at what he'd dubbed Brian's controlling tendencies out on his body._

_It had been win-win in his opinion._

_"Did you honestly expect me to let you live in a rat's nest," Brian huffed, propping himself back up on his arm and hovering over Justin. "Please, as if I'd ever sleep in something like that. I once told Ian that there was nothing glorious in being a starving artist and I hold to that. No way in hell was I going to let you go to New York without a safety net."_

_"Interfering, controlling asshole," Justin muttered, groaning when Brian just grinned unrepentantly; he really should have learned a long time ago that Brian always gets his way in the end._

_"You love me anyways," Brian smirked, dropping a soft kiss on his mouth. "Now back to Simon. You were the first to slip the net; but you were also the person who has encouraged others to do so. So, yes, I think he's a threat and needs to be watched."_

 

"What are you thinking about?" Justin asked, breaking into his thoughts; Brian shook his head and smiled down into his husband's pensive face.

"Lindsay," Brian said; and then he sighed and pulled the blankets closer around them. They'd have to move soon as it was nearly dusk and the wind off the ocean was getting colder and colder. "And what needs to be done."

"Are you really going to have her rights revoked?" Justin asked, worrying his lip between his teeth; Brian reached over and gently pulled it out from between his teeth, rubbing the red, swollen flesh with his thumb.

"If I can, yes," Brian said, dropping his hand. "I think that we have a good chance."

He leaned back into the chair with a sigh; this was a move that he hadn't wanted to make. But after hearing everything that Lindsay had done, and more, the fact that she wasn't even repentant or remorseful of her actions… Well, he couldn't leave Gus in to be raised in that toxic environment. As, while Mel did kick Lindsay out; the girls had a bad habit of sweeping things under the rug and forgiving each other eventually.

Hopefully that would happen in this case.

"I'm in a different place in life these days, Sunshine," He continued. "I'm now happily married, and have been in a monogamous, steady relationship for five years; I'm living in a home that has plenty of room for children and have three thriving businesses. Four, if you count the fact that I am a silent partner in yours and Sydney's gallery. She doesn't have the hold over me that she once did."

"Do you think they will grant it?" Justin asked with a hopeful look on his face; and Brian smiled. He loved that Justin had always treated Gus as if he were his own child.

"I don't know," Brian shrugged. "But I have to try; and the fact that Gus wants to come live with us is a positive note. He's living in a toxic environment, and I can't stand by and watch him wither away in that house. Although, I don't want to cut Melanie completely out; and if he wanted to stay with her now that she's booted Lindsay to the curb, I'd be fine with that. For all that Mel and I butt heads on how to raise him, she  _is_  a good mother."

"I just worry as the courts tend to favor the mother," Justin said, bringing up a valid point; and one that had Brian hesitating years ago. Things were different now.

"They do," Brian agreed, running his fingers through Justin's hair, a gesture that was just as soothing for him as it was for Justin. "But here is the difference from last time – she has no home as of this moment since Mel kicked her out, she only has a part-time job that it sketchy at best and doesn't pay enough for her to live on, let alone support a child, her marriage is ending and she has no hope of getting adequate support from that avenues due to her past indiscretions and infidelity. It doesn't look good for her."

"I hope for Gus' sake it works out," Justin murmured, he grabbed Brian's hand and pulled it back under the blankets, tangling them together.

"So do I, Sunshine," Brian sighed, squeezing both of Justin's hands. "So, do I."

They fell into silence as the brilliant pinks and oranges of the sunset cooled and faded into blues and purples; and Brian smirked each time Justin pulled out his camera to capture the scene. He had a feeling he'd soon be seeing another series of paintings or pastels based on all of the pictures that Justin had snapped today.

Justin took one last photo and then closed the lens and turned the camera off. Leaning forward, he carefully packed the camera away and then leaned back into his original position. Brian shivered as the blankets had gapped, letting the cold sea air in. It was definitely time to start thinking of going back into the room.

"There was one thing I was wondering," Justin said, huffing as he maneuvered around in Brian's lap so that he was now sitting with his ass on one side of Brian's legs and his feet planted on the other side. Brian arched a brow, and would have offered to help, but he didn't want to get his head bit off by the fiercely independent, hormonal twat.

"What's that?" Brian asked, wrapping his arms back around Justin as he got settled. Justin rolled his lips under and fixed his worried gaze onto Brian

"Who was in the media room when the live feed came on?" he asked nervously.

Brian winced; he really didn't want to think about that. He'd put off the numerous questions that he'd gotten via text and voicemail over the past two days as he'd been more concerned with Justin and working things out. But he knew that sooner or later, they'd have to face the inquisition, and he wasn't looking forward to it. But Justin didn't look as if he were going to be as easily put off.

"Carl and the kids were there originally," Brian reluctantly said, holding up a hand when Justin tensed and his eyes widened in apprehension. "But I got them out of their before they could see anything." Justin sighed in relief. "The ones that saw the whole thing were Emmett, Ted, Tucker, Liam, Deb, your mother, Mel, Lucille, Yasmeen and Daphne."

"Oh, fuck," Justin cursed, his tone hushed as he stared at Brian with no little amount of horror. "How the fuck is she still alive?"

"It wasn't easy," Brian admitted, huffing out a laugh when he remembered Daphne tearing into Lindsay like a wild cat; he was disappointed that he hadn't thought to record it. Justin would have gotten a good laugh out of watching his spitfire bestie spitting in Lindsay's face. "Especially when our favorite hellion went after her."

"Oh, fuck," Justin said again, still looking terrified. "What did Daphne do?"

"Don't worry," Brian said, dismissing Justin's concerns with a wave of his hand. "Sadly, Liam pulled her away before she could get more than one swipe in; although, she did spit in Lindsay's face as she was being hauled up the stairs."

Justin snickered at that; his eyes dancing with amusement and pride. Brian knew that he would enjoy that part of the altercation. And then he sobered.

"And no one else did anything?" Justin asked skeptically, already bracing himself for whatever news Brian might impart.

Brian didn't mind the skepticism because he too had been surprised that none of the other women had gotten their licks in while he was still sitting there stunned. But then again, he'd just assumed that they had been equally as shocked by the virulent words exchanged between Justin and Lindsay, and they hadn't been able to react either.

"Surprisingly no," Brian said with a shrug; he really wasn't worried about it. He knew that eventually it was going to sink in and then Lindsay will wish she were dead by the time they got done with her. It couldn't happen to a nicer person in his opinion. "I showed her the video feed, she tried to tell me it wasn't what I thought, and then I got pissed and dragged her up the stairs and threw her out of the house as you well know."

"Shit," Justin cursed again, dropping his head into his hands; Brian snickered. "That means they're plotting."

"Probably," Brian agreed; smirking unrepentantly when Justin shot him annoyed frown.

"You sound far too happy with that," Justin accused. Brian shrugged; as he said, it couldn't happen to a nicer person. "Brian, you know we need to keep an eye on them; who knows what chaos they'll cause."

"Fuck that," Brian spat; annoyed that Justin was even thinking of stopping them. "Lindsay is on her own; I'm done saving her ass from her own stupidity."

"Oh, fuck Lindsay," Justin huffed, waving that thought away with a flick of his hand; and Brian sent him a sheepish grin. Good to now they were on the same page. "I was thinking about the fact that if we don't rein them in, we'll end up having to bail them out of jail; and that would not be good."

Brian snickered, dodging when Justin went to smack him on the arm.

"I'll concede to your point," Brian conceded, trying to look as if he gave on shit about it; but he failed miserably based on Justin's annoyed expression. Brian shrugged again. "I'll be sure to remind not to get caught."

"You're no help," Justin huffed, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Sorry, Sunshine," Brian said, not sounding sorry about it at all. "I'm not helping with this; I know better than to stand in those women's way. You're on your own."

Justin grimaced and conceded the point; getting in the way of one of them when they were on a rampage was risky; trying to stop the whole contingent of them when they were on the warpath was suicide. Brian was so not getting in their way.

"Now, are we done with this?" he asked, starting to sit up. "Because we still have one more thing to deal with before we go home

"What's that?" Justin asked warily.

"Well, by my count, we fought with each other at least three times," Brian smirked, as he moved Justin's legs off of him. "That means I'm owed three rounds of make-up sex."

"But last night we…" Justin huffed, but his eyes sparked with interest.

"That wasn't make-up sex," Brian said, pinning his husband into the corner of the couch. "That was just you being irresistible and me being unable to keep my hands off you. It only becomes make-up sex once we've actually resolved our issues."

"Is that so?" Justin asked with a coy smile, his eyelids falling half-mast as he tipped back his head and looked up at Brian through his lashes.

"Yes," Brian smirked, running his hands over Justin's body, pausing to cup and squeeze his already hardening cock. God he loved that his boy still got hard at the drop of a hat. "Yes it is; hence you owe me three rounds of make-up sex. I thought you might like to get started as you are going to be a busy little bee."

"Well, I wouldn't want to deprive you of your just dues," Justin murmured as Brian's head descended and his lips covered Justin's, his tongue flicking out to taste them. Justin groaned and wrapped his arms around Brian as he deepened the kiss, their tongues teasing and tangling with one another until they broke for air.

"That is very wise of you, Sunshine," Brian said as he scooped his husband up and carried him into the bedroom where their very comfortable, and much warmer, bed waited. "Very wise indeed."


	93. March 26

**March 26 – (29 weeks)**

Kiki looked up from bussing and wiping down the counter as the bell on the door tinkled, her fake welcoming smile warming into something genuine as two of her favorite customers walked through the door. It had been a long day, and her back was already hurting due to the four-inch heels she insisted on wearing each and every day. After all, one did not skip on beauty, and she was more than willing to pay the price for looking this good while working.

Waving to Justin and Blake as they carted the newest little prince to enter Liberty Avenue's royal family over to their preferred table, Kiki took a moment to grab a couple of menus and some water and then headed their way, as she was just dying to see little Luc again. While Blake and Luc were seen out and about on the Avenue more these days, Blake still tended to do the thing all new parents do and fretted having him out too long; so, there visits to the diner were usually brief.

And Kiki took every chance she got to coo over the little angel. He was definitely her one of her favorites, coming second only to the King's prince and princess, (because everyone knew that while Michael may be Jenny's biological father, Brian and Justin were the fathers of her heart and the ones that counted). Gus and Jenny were something else; and she loved them like they were her own.

Something she will, sadly, never have due to a riding accident as a kid; she hadn't been on a horse since. Maybe one day, she too will find someone to share her life with, who could carry their children; or if that wasn't possible, would be willing to adopt.

Sighing, Kiki pasted on a smile and walked over to Blake and Justin, who were sitting at the table and talking seriously amongst themselves. She could guess just what they were discussing as well since she'd heard what had transpired over the weekend. In full inglorious detail as well from a fuming Deb, Daphne and Emmett; to say that they were all on the warpath after discovering Lindsay's duplicity was a vast understatement.

A fact made known far and wide when, snickering amongst themselves, Daphne and Emmett had gotten into Justin's laptop and sent a little video around to all the most gossipy Queens they could name. Deb had warned them both that Justin might be mad, but Daphne had waved off and said, if he didn't want her getting into it, then he shouldn't have given her the password.

Personally, Kiki had silently commended them and then snickered as she'd watched the reactions as Queen after Queen had gotten the e-mail, had spat out whatever they were eating or drinking in disgust and then quickly forwarded it on to everyone in their address book. By the end of the day, it had been trending on every social media you could think of and the YouTube video had thousands of views.

And it was nothing more than vicious, rapacious bitch deserved.

"Hey Justin," Kiki said, smiling genuinely at the blond when he flashed his now infamous Sunshine smile.

She really missed seeing him bus and wait on tables; he and Brian had always made working at the diner entertaining when he'd worked here. They way those two had been so obviously in love with each other, yet so hesitant to admit it, constantly dancing around each other; well, it had led to hours of amusement watching them fall.

"Hey, Blake," she greeted her other favorite blond, and got a tired smile in return; that boy really needed to stop being stubborn and let people help him out so he could get some sleep. Really, he has all this family, he just needs to open his moth already and accept that he was human after all.

"Hey Kiki," Justin and Blake said together, and then looked at each other and chuckled, crying 'jinx' at the same time. Kiki smiled and rolled her eyes; it was difficult to maintain a bad mood around those two.

"And just who is this little cutie?" Kiki cooed, ignoring the two men in favor of the wide awake and staring Luc, who was blowing bubbles and cooing right back.

"I told you," Justin huffed in mock offense, rolling his eyes at Blake. "It's like we don't even exist when he's around. No how are you doing? Are you feeling well? Can I get you anything? Nope. One look at Luc, and we're invisible."

"You might as well get used to that," Blake snorted; he took a small sip of his water before opening the menu that he should know like the back of his hand given how often they were all here. "The moment they're born, you cease to exist; you were nothing more than the real attention magnet's incubator."

"Well, you are cute, honey," Kiki teased, winking at a blushing Justin. "But not nearly as cute as this sweet thing. He's going to be a heartbreaker just like his Daddy here."

"I actually think he looks more like Ted than me," Blake hummed, staring down at his son in complete adoration. "Of course, he says the opposite. But I see a lot of Ted in his eyes, his nose and his mouth."

"Oh, but he does have your smile," Kiki said, chuckling when the baby blew a spit bubble and then smiled at her. "That one is nearly as irresistible as Justin's. Oh, God, I can just see it now; your two sweet babies, running around, causing mischief and getting away with it because of their smiles. They are going to rule the word one day."

"Don't forget," Justin smirked, a devilish twinkle in his eyes. "Daphne is pregnant too; so we'll have another Doyle-Chanders baby around this age too."

"We may as well give up now," Kiki huffed as she made face and tickled Luc's stomach. "A Schmidt-Wyzecki baby, a Taylor-Kinney baby, and a Doyle-Chanders baby, all going to the same school together. Now all we need is a Honeycutt-Boyd baby to round the group out and they'll set the world on fire."

"I'm not sure the world is ready for that combination," Blake joked as he set his menu aside and took another sip of water.

"Ready or not, we're coming anyway," Justin smirked, looking far too gleeful about that; and Kiki had to fight back a small shudder.

"And now that I've gotten my Luc fix," she said, turning to the boys with a smile "How are you doing?"

"Oh, now she remembers us," Justin teased; and Kiki was happy to see him looking so relaxed given everything that happened this past weekend.

"Brat," Kik huffed. "You look well rested."

"A couple of days at sea will do that for you," Justin smiled, his bright and softening around the edges. "No calls, no emails, no surprise visitors. Nothing but laying around, eating good food, talking about everything and anything, and…"

"Fucking." Blake and Kiki said together, laughing when Justin huffed and rolled his eyes.

"Well, I was going to say sleeping you pervs," Justin said in a prim tone, his nose stuck in the air. "But yes, there was plenty of that too."

"There always is when BK is involved," Kiki .smirked, pulling out her pen and pad

"Hey, that is BTK these days," Justin said, a bright smile on his face.

"I know, but that just doesn't have the same ring to it," Kiki said, a thoughtful frown on her face she tapped her pen against her lips. And then she sighed with envy. "I don't know where you find the energy to keep up with him some days."

"Trust me," Justin winked, a lascivious grin stealing over his lips. "His and my appetites are well matched in that regard."

"What he's so coyly trying to say is," Blake said in a mock confidential tone. "Unlike the rest of us mere mortals, who have regular libidos, they both like to fuck like bunnies. Although, I'm curious to see how that pans out once Sunbeam is born."

"Some parents take nap breaks," Justin smirked knowingly. "We'll be taking fuck breaks; that will hopefully, eventually, end in a cat nap. Besides, that what grandmothers, aunts and uncles are for. I have no problem using my Twink Powers to get a few free hours to fuck my husband into the mattress; or vice versa."

"Maybe that's what I'm doing wrong," Blake hummed, leaning back into the booth with a frown. "I should start employing my own Twink Powers to get some Teddy Time."

"I told you a long time ago," Justin said, admonishing his friend on his stubbornness; it was an argument that they'd been having since Blake had first announced his pregnancy. "Trying to do this all on your own is insane. You have friends and family willing to help at a drop of a hat. I know for a fact that Deb is just dying to get her hands on him for more than an hour or two. You should take advantage of that when you can. Luc needs happy and healthy parents in order to remain happy and healthy himself, and there is nothing wrong with asking for help."

"I might just take you up on that," Blake said, finally conceding to Justin's arguments. "It has been far too long since we've had any alone time. Lately it's been everything we can do to just make it through dinner most nights. And the last two weeks has been nothing but bottles and diapers, eating, work for Ted and sleeping in between more bottles and diapers."

"You haven't had sex in two weeks?" Justin asked incredulously; and Kiki couldn't help laughing at his horrified expression. No one needed to be told that the King and his Prince's sex life was full and doing well based on that look alone.

"Well, while our Prince sits there completely stunned at that announcement," Kiki said, still chuckling at Justin's stunned look. "Let me offer my services. I'd be happy to watch this little darling for a few hours if you and Ted want to get dinner and a show one night. Or even during the day when I'm not working if you need to get out for a bit."

"Thanks, Kiki," Blake smiled gratefully at her and then jabbed Justin with his foot, shaking the blond out of his frozen state. "I appreciate it; and once I'm not quite as freaked out about leaving Luc with someone, I'll likely take you up on that."

"Seriously?" Justin asked again, still staring at his friend in disbelief. "Two weeks?"

"Ah, he speaks," Blake teased. "I was wondering if I'd actually managed to make you go catatonic at the mere suggestion of not having sex every day."

"I can't even begin to comprehend…" Justin said and then visibly shuddered at the thought. And then he whipped out his phone in a no-nonsense manner. "Okay; quick question – how long does Luc sleep at night these days?"

"He's gotten to where he'll sleep five to six hours at a time at night," Blake said, looking confused when Justin started typing into his phone. "We usually put him down around seven and he sleeps to about midnight. And then I will feed him, change him and spend a little time with him before putting him back down. And then he'll usually sleep until five or six in the morning when Ted usually gets up and starts his day. He'll take care of Luc then to let me sleep a little longer before he goes t work."

"Perfect," Justin drew the word out as he continued to…well, it looked as if he were texting with someone given the back and forth blips; and Kiki figured that based on his comments, Justin was working on a plan to get his friend laid. "Give me a moment; I'll tell you in a bit."

"So, are you two ready to order?" Kiki asked, pulling Blake's attention away from Justin just as he grinned triumphantly. "Shall I bring your usual orders?"

"Actually, I need to look at the menu," Justin said absently as he typed in another message. "I want something else today, but I'm not quite sure what I want just yet."

"One of those days?" Kiki asked, wondering what weird concoction Justin was planning to try now; his food cravings had been bizarre to say the least.

"Something like that," Justin said equally as distracted, his attention on his phone.

Kiki and Blake shared a confused look, wondering what could have Justin so enthralled that not even the subject of food could rear him away. And then Blake shrugged, indicating that he didn't have a clue as to what was going on. Kiki looked back at Justin, who nodded to himself and the locked his phone and set it aside with a smile.

"Well, let me know when you're ready," Kiki said asn she too shrugged; if Justin was smiling, it couldn't all be bad. "In the meantime, do I have a story for you." Justin and Blake perked up at the mention of gossip. "And I figured that I would tell you first just in case  _someone_  mentioned it to Brian, twisting it to make themselves out to be the victim."

"Oh God," Justin groaned, resting his head in his hands. "What has Michael or Lindsay done now?"

"It was Lindsay," Kiki confirmed with a grim smile; she hated to bring this to Justin's attention, but knowing that vile, little bitch, she'd try to rewrite history until she came out looking like the victim. Better he hear the truth from Kiki than get caught off guard. "As far as I know, Michael is still with Ben on the other side of the country; at least that's what I heard last time I talked to Deb."

"Well, at least there is that," Blake sneered. "Now if only Lindsay would take a hint and leave town, life would be so much better."

"Please, child," Kiki huffed and sent him a knowing look. "You and I both know that woman wouldn't know a good idea if it bit her on the ass; nor would she understand that as persona non grata to the 'family' in particular, and the Avenue in general, that she'd worn out her welcome as soon as she attacked their Prince. That leads me to our little blow up the other day."

 

_Kiki walked towards the counter after refilling the coffee for several very noisy patrons, who had all been discussing the newest outrage that the King's so-called friends had perpetrated against him and his Prince. Kiki herself was more than a little disgusted by the video that Emmett had sent to her, telling her feel free to share with anyone she thought needed to see it. So, she'd done just that._

_She'd whipped out her phone and passed it on to the nosiest, biggest gossips to grace the Avenue to start and then onto a few people that were on and off the Avenue, who could make that vile wretch's life miserable in the long run. No one messed with her Justin and got away with it. That kid had been through enough as it was; he didn't need uppity shrew's causing him even more pain._

_Emptying the dregs of the coffee pot, Kiki cleaned out and set another pot to brewing, because God knew that they'd need it at this time of day – when the club crowd finally crawled their way out of bed and came looking for 'breakfast' and a cup of coffee to stave off the pounding in their heads. Flicking on a second pot, Kiki began getting place settings together, so she could quickly change out the tables once they came available._

_It was not a time to dawdle as, as soon as the club crowd left, she would then be facing the lunch crowd and would quickly get swamped if she didn't have everything set up and ready to go. There wouldn't be a chance to even breathe until around two in the afternoon, when most of the crowd dwindled and went back to work._

_Sighing, she began rolling napkins around forks and knives and wished that Henry hadn't called in sick; as this was shaping up to be a brutal day, and she didn't want to call Deb in if she could at all help it. Deb had already worked a double shift yesterday due to Henry and needed the rest more. Thankfully, Em had promised to come and help for two hours in the height of the lunch crowd as a favor to Deb._

_Setting a place setting aside, she grabbed another napkin and had started rolling the utensils into them when the bell over the door jingled. Looking up, she forced a smile onto her face in preparation of greeting the customer, but halted when the diner came to a dead stop around her, all movement and conversations halting in an instant as the nasty little bitch they revolved around walked through the door with her nose in the air._

_Everyone turned in their seats and blatantly stared at Lindsay, a few merely curious as they were knew to the air and weren't in the know; but the vast majority were glowering at her. And really, if looks could kill, she'd have been splattered across the sidewalk dozens of times over. Lindsay scanned the diner with a haughty look on her face, as if she were looking for someone; and she could only guess who it was given her misguided belief that Brian would eventually forgive her._

_Luckily, the King and his Prince were being held captive on a yacht at Ted and Drew's behest, (not that either were complaining), and weren't present for what was likely to be a nasty confrontation based on her expression._

_"Oh, I don't think so, missy," Kiki hissed, resting one hand on her hip as she point towards the door with the other. "You turn your skanky little tush around and get out; you're not welcome here."_

_"Excuse me?" Lindsay demanded, her eyes going wide at Kiki's words; and then she sneered. "Who the hell are you to tell me what to do?"_

_"I'm the manager on shift, sweet cakes," Kiki snorted, making the other patrons snicker as she smirked. "And as manager, I am allowed to refuse service to those we don't want to serve; and I am telling you that your presence is not wanted and you are no longer welcome here. Don't come back."_

_"You can't bar me from here," Lindsay hissed, again looking around the diner as if she were looking for help; but that ship had sailed. Literally as it turned out this time. "I'll make a formal complaint to the owner."_

_"Oh, please do," Kiki drawled, flashing a nasty smile the frigid bitch's way. "It will make my year as I'm sure that Brian will laugh himself silly when he reads it." Lindsay looked surprised, but quickly tried to hide it. That must have annoyed her. "Yeah, you didn't know that did you? And after what you did to his husband, I'm not seeing him being all that accommodating of your whims or demands."_

_"Brian will forgive me," Lindsay sneered imperiously; her nose stuck firmly in the air. And Kiki so wanted walk over to her and use that nose as a target for her fist. But unlike this cunt, she was a lady and would find a much more productive outlet for her ire. "He always does."_

_"Honey, delusional is so not a good color for you," Kiki sneered, snickering when Lindsay gasped with outrage; yeah, take that you heifer. And then she quickly made a silent apology to cows everywhere for besmirching their good names with the comparison. "But I suppose we all must have our dreams; they even come true for some of us. For instance, I have been living for the day that our King would see you for the conniving, manipulative, rancorous, greedy bitch you are; and lo and behold, you showed that in spectacular form. I really must thank you for that."_

_"I don't know what you mean," Lindsay said warily, looking uncertain for the first time since she'd walked through the door._

_"Oh, don't even try to pull the wool over my eyes, missy," Kiki spat, flicking a disgusted look over her. "I may not have been there for the actual blow out, but I did receive an interesting email after the fact. In fact, I'd say that there were several of us Queens that got the same video and I can safely say that you are persona non grata in these parts. So, you go right ahead and lie to yourself, but you can no longer lie to us."_

_"I can't believe that Brian would do this to me," Lindsay hissed, once again outraged and blaming anyone but herself for her vile behavior. "Obviously this is all Justin's…"_

_"Neither Brian nor Justin had anything to do with it," Kiki cut her off, looking down her nose. "In fact; they aren't even in town right now, so they_ _**couldn't**  _ _do it. No, that honor lies in the hands of our dear Mr. Honeycutt, with the help of our darling Daphne, who, by the way, is gunning for you; so I'd lie low until she's just slightly less murderous. And if you think the video with Michael went viral, oh honey; you ain't seen nothing yet."_

_"Viral?" Lindsay asked hesitantly, dread written clearly on her face._

_"Oh, yes," Kiki said with relish, a smug smile slowly spreading across her face; oh, she was so going to enjoy this. "It's been making the rounds on YouTube. And every time one is pulled down, another appears. It's had thousands of views and is quite the talk of the internet. It really is too bad that you didn't give Simon's full name; I would have loved to have seen him explain himself to all those important and morally upstanding people that he relies on for his bread and butter."_

_Lindsay paled and took an involuntary step back, a hand flying up to cover her mouth, a flicker of fear in her eyes; and she should be scared. Once this video finished making its rounds, her dreams of being an influential voice in the art world were over._

_"Although," Kiki said sweetly. "I'm sure that it won't take long for people who know Justin and yourself to piece together all the relevant details and figure out just who you were talking about. I can't imagine Simon being all too happy about having his business spread far and wide across the net like that, do you?"_

_"They can't prove anything," Lindsay said, but it didn't sound confident at all._

_"Honey, they don't have to prove anything," Kiki laughed, shaking her head at the delusional twit. "All there needs to be is the hint of scandal and the court of public opinion will do the rest. I do wonder what Simon will think once this starts to pinch his pocketbook and tarnishes his prestige. My guess is that your place in the art world that you so love just died a fiery death."_

_Lindsay went white with rage, her lips compressing into a thin line as she really looked around the diner for the first time and noted the sneers and jeers cast her way. Kiki just smiled and crossed her arms over her chest._

_"Looks like the tribe has spoken and you've been voted off the Avenue," Kiki said, grinning when several patrons snickered at her 'quoting' the famous reality show. "Couldn't happen to a better person if you ask me. Now get the fuck out of my diner and don't bother coming back. Because if you do, this will seem like a sting compared to what I do to you."_

_Lindsay glowered at her one last time, but Kiki just stared back blandly, completely unmoved by the other woman's impotent rage. Flicking a look at a couple of nearby bears, Kiki nodded and then smirked when they stood, cracking their knuckles. Lindsay huffed, turned on her heel and walked out the door, her cheeks reddening in either embarrassment or anger as laughter followed in her wake._

 

"Holy shit," Justin exclaimed, his eyes wide as saucers as Kiki finished her story. And then he grimaced and looked over at a still happy and cooing Luc; he cast an apologetic look at Blake, but then restated the sentiment. "Sorry, but holy shit! I can't believe that…"

"No one fucks with our King and his Prince," Kiki said firmly, a grim smile on her face. "And honestly, we haven't even begun yet. She is quickly learning that the only reason she'd been tolerated for this long is due to out respect for Brian and yourself. But now that her true colors have been shown, her contacts are drying up faster than a puddle in Death Valley in the middle of summer."

"A puddle in Death Valley in the middle of summer?" Blake laughed, but also looked suitably impressed by the lengths that the Avenue went to in order to protect their King and Prince. "I'll have to remember that; where is Death Valley anyways?"

"California," Kiki said with a shrug. "Before I was a Pittsburgh girl, I was a California boy. Trust me, you don't want to be anywhere near Death Valley in summer. So, are you two ready to order, or do you need more time."

"Uh, no," Justin stammered, still obviously floored by the story, but there was also a smug smile tugging at his mouth. "I'm ready whenever you are Blake."

"I'm good," Blake said with a lazy shrug of his shoulders.

"So what can I get for you?" Kiki asked, looking to Blake first as she figured that it would be faster and easier than anything Justin ordered.

"I'll have the bacon cheese burger with steak fries, a side of fruit and a Coke," Blake said with a smile, handing the menu off to Kiki when she was done writing.

"And for you?" Kiki asked Justin, bracing herself for whatever odd request he'd make that day; Although, nothing had been stranger than the donuts, mustard and popcorn combo. That had made Kiki shudder; especially when she'd made the mistake of asking why mustard and Blake had seriously told her it was to make sure the popcorn stuck.

"Um…" Justin said, looking at the menu for the first time in years; he chewed on his lower lip and then sighed. "I'll have a turkey and cheddar on wheat, with light mayo; a side salad, with balsamic vinaigrette on the side, a fruit cup, and milk."

"You want a turkey sandwich?" Kiki asked, looking at the blond as if he'd grown another head or as if trying to figure out which alien life force had taken over her friend.

"Yes," Justin said, snapping the menu closed with a decisive nod as he handed it over. "Oh, and a glass of orange juice."

"Right," Kiki said doubtfully, instantly worried as this was unlike her friend; it sounded more like something Brian would order. She tapped her pen on the pad. "Anything else? A side of fries? A lemon bar? A milkshake?"

"Nope," Justin said with a blithe smile. "Not today."

Blake snickered; likely finding Kiki's reaction amusing, but forgive her surprise. Justin was the one that ordered cheeseburgers dripping in cheese and covered with bacon, asked for extra fries and would have a side of onion rings as well if he could get away with it. He didn't order turkey sandwiches.

"Okay," Kiki said slowly, shaking her head as she wrote the order down. "Let me just put this in and I'll be back with your drinks."

**… … … … …**

Kiki silently watched Justin eat his sandwich without even one complaint, still concerned and wondering when this alien had overtaken her friend's body. It was just so odd to see him eating something normal and not dripping in grease, and she didn't know what to make of the day's order. She had to be missing something.

Sighing, she slipped out of her pumps for a moment's respite as the diner hummed along, everyone happily eating their lunches and not demanding attention for once. Stretching her toes, she looked up and smiled when Todd walked in and took a seat at the counter. Pulling out a cup and saucer, she quickly poured him a cup of coffee and then looked back at Justin with a worried frown.

Todd glanced over at the table, wondering what had gotten her attention, and then he too did a double take to see Justin eating his turkey on wheat. Oh, good, so it wasn't just her. She knew that she could be a tad overdramatic, but if Todd found it odd as well, maybe she wasn't making a mountain out of a molehill.

"Is he eating…?" Todd started, but couldn't seem to finish the question.

"Yes, he is," Kiki confirmed, still very much weirded out by health-conscious-alien-Justin.

"That is definitely the weirdest thing I've ever seen," Todd said, a confused frown on his face. "And I've been privy to some of his more interesting food cravings."

"Yeah, I know," Kiki said, shaking her head as Justin finished his salad and didn't so much as steal a fry from Blake's plate. Todd turned to her and they shared a worried look. "It's just so…unlike him. I hope everything is okay."

"Well, I know that things have been pretty tense the past few days," Todd shrugged, drinking his coffee as he kept one wary eye on alien-Justin. "What with Lindsay and the stalker situation and them fighting… Maybe he had to be put on a special diet for health reasons?"

"Maybe," Kiki hummed thoughtfully. "That would make sense; can you watch over the place for a minute or two and let anyone know that I'll be right back if they come in? I want to call Kinney and see if there is anything we should be watching for."

"Sure," Todd said, reaching for a menu. "I have the afternoon off, so I don't have to be anywhere."

"You know, I don't think I even know what you do," Kiki said, slightly embarrassed that she'd never asked the man what he did.

"Lawyer," Todd said, smirking at Kiki's surprise. "An estate planning lawyer; although, most people on the Avenue don't know as it's a younger demographic and they rarely think that far in advance. I did all of Brian and Justin's work though. Sadly, they both are far too aware of their own mortality due to the things they've been through."

"Really," Kiki said; that was something she could really use. She didn't want her hard earned cash to fall into her bigoted brother's hands if she never got around to getting married and having children. Very few knew that she worked at the diner simply because she enjoyed it, and not because she needed to. "We'll need to talk at some point as I have a few things I need to put in place."

"My card," Todd said with a knowing smile; he was one of the few in the know. "Give my office a call and my assistant, Ava, will set up an appointment."

"I'll do that," Kiki smiled, pocketing the card in her apron. "Now off to call the King and hope everything is okay."

Kiki spun on her heel and hurried back to the office; she flipped through the rolodex and found the number that she needed – Brian's direct office line. She quickly dialed it and then sat back in her chair as it ringed three times before being picked up.

"Taylor-Kinney," Brian said, his tone brusque.

"Uh, BK," Kiki said, hoping that this wasn't a bad time. "It's Kiki down at the diner."

"What can I do for you, Kiki," Brian said, his tone instantly warming.

"I don't want to alarm you, honey," Kiki hedged, trying to figure out the best way to say this, as now, sitting there it sounded kind of crazy to be worried that Justin was eating healthy for once; but she could help worrying. "But is everything okay with Justin?"

"Last I saw him," Brian said slowly, concern creeping into his voice. "Which was about forty-five minutes ago in the office, he was just fine. Is everything okay? I know that he mentioned going to lunch with Blake at the diner."

"It's just that he's…acting a bit oddly," Kiki finished lamely, coloring and cursing under breath when she couldn't voice her true concerns.

"Odd how?" Brian demanded, instantly on alert; and Kiki felt bad for that as a torrent of questions spilled out of his mouth. "Does he seem overly nervous or anxious? Did some obe approach him? Has someone said something to him that's upset him? Or threatened him in any way?"

"No, no, no," Kiki flushed; she should have remembered how high strung the two of them had been lately due to the stalker situation. That had not been her best moment. "Nothing like that, honey; sorry to worry you."

"So, what exactly seems to be the problem?" Brian asked, his voice still laced with concern, but the tension dropping a few degrees.

"Well, I don't know how to say this without sounding like an idiot," Kiki muttered, patting her hair as she again realized how stupid this sounded.

"Justin does have that affect on people at times," Brian said in a dry tone; and Kiki could just see him sitting at his desk and smirking.

"It's just that," Kiki trailed off and bit her lower lip, and then pushed on. "When he ordered his lunch…it was healthy? And normal? And, well, something more along the lines you'd order than I would ever expect Justin to order."

There was a moment of silence on the other end, and then Brian doubled over with laughter. Kiki was a little miffed by that, but at the same time, she was also relieved because, if Brian was laughing, then it was nothing serious.

"And well," Kiki said, feeling a little foolish. "I just wanted to make sure that everything was alright and that he hadn't been put on some sort of special diet by his doctor due to gestational diabetes or the like."

"He's fine," Brian said, amusement still coating his voice; but at least he'd stopped laughing. "He was a little anemic at his last check up, but nothing serious."

"That's good to hear," Kiki sighed with relief. "I just got worried because ordering a turkey sandwich with light mayo and a side salad with the dressing on the side rather than fries or onion rings was so unlike him."

"The twat is fine," Brian reassured her, snickering again. "He just has to up his protein intake a bit." And then he paused. "So, he actually did it? He ordered the turkey sandwich, a salad, a fruit cup, milk and orange juice?"

"Yes; actually that was his exact order," Kiki said slowly, wondering what she'd inadvertently gotten herself pulled into. You never knew with these two.

"Good boy," Brian said, and again she could hear the smirk in his voice. "Once he's finished, tell the brat that for doing as he was told, he'll love his s _urprise_  later."

"Oh," Kiki said a bit confused; and then it clicked and she flushed. " _OH!_  Well, then…that makes a lot more sense. Sorry for bugging you at work BK. I'll pass on your message. "

"Thanks Kiki," Brian said, chuckling again as he ended the call. "Appreciate the fact that you're all watching out for him."

"Anytime BK," Kiki said and then she hung up the phone. Standing, she shook her head and headed out to relay the King's message to his Prince, only feeling slightly envious at whatever promises Brian had made. They had to be something if it kept Justin from cheating on his diet. The lucky bastard.


	94. March 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **WARNING:** There is a flashback in this one that may make some squeamish as it discusses bull castration in detail. There is a reason for it, but some people might not care for that and I thought put up a warning.

**March 27**

 

"So, why exactly are we here again?" Justin asked for the dozenth time that evening; Molly huffed and cast an irritated look his way, but too fucking bad. It was exactly as she deserved for kidnapping him this evening, ruining all the lovely plans that he and Brian had made the day before.

Plans that he'd very much been looking forward to for three fucking days.

It had all started on the yacht, after Brian and he had made-up; they had been spending their evening, wrapped-up in post-coital bliss, discussing his latest test results and the minor case of anemia that had cropped up. Justin, despite his Twinkie craze, had actually been fairly good about his eating habits, sticking to healthy options on most days. Not that you'd know that by the way everyone acted.

Brian being one of those people; he'd used the minor anemia as an excuse to get on Justin's case about his so-called poor eating habit, citing the Twinkies as the biggest offense. Justin had grown irritated by that accusation, because outside of his Twinkies, he'd stuck to what Anna had prepared for him fuck you very much; and he wasn't going to put up with Brian's bitching. He'd then quickly defended himself, saying that he was quite capable of feeding his own damned self and didn't need his Lordship to rein anything in.

Brian, of course, had scoffed at that and said that Justin didn't have the necessary self-control to go even a day without eating one fatty or bad for him food item, let alone the wherewithal to go longer than that. Justin, to say the least, had been a little miffed; and it had led to a minor squabble between the two of them, which ended with Brian daring Justin to go three days eating only the foods he chose.

Justin had glared at his husband, but agreed to the terms, prompting Brian to write up a menu that Justin was expected to follow to a 'T' starting that very evening and ending tonight; and if he so much as even touched a single fry or a Twinkie, even if he hadn't eaten them, then he would lose and was expected to then let the controlling bastard plan their meals for the next month.

And like hell was that going to happen; he'd seen the gleam in Brian's eyes as he'd said that and Justin knew that if he caved, he could kiss his Twinkies goodbye for said month. So, he'd stubbornly jutted out his chin, and told Brian to do his worst; but that when he won, and he would, Brian would shut the hell up and leave his eating habits alone.

Brian had rolled his eyes, but still nodded and agreed; sweetening the pot with some unknown surprise if Justin complied with all his demands without complaining once. As if Justin had needed the extra incentive. Brian really should have known better than to challenge him. Victory had never been so sweet and the reward would have been even sweeter if his bitch of sister and her minions hadn't busted into his house and dragged him to his mother's for some, so far, untold reason.

Could you tell that he was a wee bit irritated at being interrupted?

"It's the first official meeting of the Luscious Ladies' Retribution Club," Molly huffed for the same dozenth time, looking as if she wanted to kill Justin.

Pissing interfering sister off? Mission accomplished.

"Okay," Justin said slowly, as if here were speaking to a small child. "Then why am  ** _I_**  here; seeing as I lack the required parts for said club?"

Because that was what he really wanted to know; if this was for the Luscious  _Ladies_ , why the fuck did he have to be present? He could be at home right now, with his husband, having hot food-porn sex instead of eating this dry…whatever the hell was in this tea sandwich and listening to them gossip about nothing important, and getting on his last nerve because he could be have sex right now!

"You're an honorary member," Molly said, looking far too pleased with herself; Justin glowered at his sister, but it didn't seem to have much of an affect on her.

"You know," Justin huffed a bit testily, barely even registering when Emmett walked through the door and made a beeline for him and Molly. "Just because I'm pregnant…"

"Don't worry, Baby," Emmett said, trying to sound reassuring; and usually Emmett cheered him up because that's just who Em was – you couldn't help but smile at his antics. But Justin wasn't in the mood to be cheered up. "I'm an honorary member too!"

"That makes me feel _so_ much better…" Justin said sarcastically; he quickly finished off the tasteless cucumber salad and mourned the promised goodies that were currently being withheld from him because he was stuck at his mother's house.

"Well,  _someone's_  in a mood," Emmett huffed, arching a brow.

" _Someone_  had plans tonight," Justin huffed, snagging yet another of the little bland sandwiches his mother had offered him as some sort of peace offering. It hadn't worked. "Plans that involved nudity, a nine-inch dick and strawberry cheesecake. And then I was kidnapped; I'm allowed to be cranky."

"Please, that's like every night for you, Baby," Emmett snorted; Justin glared at his friend, but Emmett just laughed, completely unperturbed by Justin's continuing foul mood.

"Cheesecake, Em," Justin emphasized; because really, there was no substitution for cheesecake-covered Brian; especially when Justin had been eating the tasteless offerings on Brian's menu of culinary torture for _three days_. "There is no forgiveness for being deprived of my cheesecake."

"I do have to agree with Blondie on that account," Lucille broke in, taking a seat next to Justin; she handed Justin a plate of the good stuff. "If you were going to kidnap the poor boy, the very least you could have done was bring the cheesecake with you."

"Lucille!" Justin happily exclaimed, taking the plate of pizza bites and artichoke cups from her, humming happily as he chowed down of the first tasty bit of greasy goodness that he'd been deprived of the past three days. Hey, the bet was over and Justin won; he could have as much bad shit as he wanted again. "I thought I had missed you."

"Leo had to fly home yesterday," Lucille said, watching Justin's antics with no little amount of amusement. "But I couldn't in all good conscience go home without spending some more time with my boys. You know, since the two of you abandoned me in favor of fucking like bunnies on Drew's yacht."

"Lucille," Justin huffed, turning red and stammering as Emmett and Molly laughed; sometimes, he just didn't know how to handle her bluntness. "Uh…well…we…I mean…"

"But since you both came back better off than when you left, I'll forgive you," Lucille teased, stealing one of the pizza bites off of Justin's plate. "This time…"

"How magnanimous of you," Justin said dryly, before tucking into an artichoke cup and again hummed with delight; God, he had so missed food with actual flavor.

"Of course, I am, darling boy," Lucille smirked, blatantly ignoring Justin's disbelieving snort as she patted her hair into place. "Far too forgiving for my own good."

"I'm sure that's not what Michael was thinking a couple of weeks back," Justin said with a sly smile; he still didn't know the full story behind Michael's behavior at the opening, but it had to be a doozey given Michael's spooked expression after their conversation.

"Well, I do make a special exception for weasels," Lucille said with a satisfied smirk.

"And speaking of retribution…" Molly said, leaning forward with a rapacious gleam in her eyes. "You never did tell us what you said to Michael at the show. It had to be good though as he was practically shitting his pants every time he looked at you."

"Ah, yes; that was fun," Lucille said, her eyes gleaming. "I was just talking about what it was like growing up on the ranch and how I was often involved with herd management; I'm not really sure what exactly set him off."

 

_Lucille lazily stalked her prey, watching and waiting for the right moment to pounce. She'd been studying the odious, little man that had caused her darling boy far too much pain and stress all night, contemplating her next move and effectively squashing the little weasel's attempts to engage Justin. No way in hell was she going to allow this pipsqueak to ruin her boy's night._

_Although, she had noted that she wasn't the only one that had been thwarting the weasel's movements; several others had been watching him and putting themselves directly into his path, including, but not limited to, Emmy Lou, Drew, Mel, Cynthia, Daphne, Liam, and Ted and Blake when they had been here, among others that Lucille didn't recognize. But they all seemed to have one common goal – protect their Sunshine from the evil, little assholes bent on destroying his evening._

_Lucille glanced over at a silently fuming Lindsay, peeved that yet another of her attempts to engage Justin or Brian, it didn't seem to matter to her which one; this time by Gus, who was talking to her about some school project. Lucille wouldn't think much of that if it were any other 13-year-old, but that kid was all Kinney, and very protective of his Jus. She didn't doubt that he'd purposely engaged his mother until Justin was safely across the room and away from her. Frowning, Lucille knew that was another snake in the grass to watch, but she would have to be put on the back burner for now; she had a bone to pick with Mr. Novotny, and it couldn't wait._

_Sneering as the weasel's mother walked up to him, Lucille rolled her eyes at the way she fawned over the petulant brat. For the most part, she'd enjoyed Deb's company; but Lucille couldn't condone the way she constantly coddled that spoiled brat of hers. Had he been **her** child, he would have been pulled over her knee a long time ago and given something real to whine about. In public for that matter; that way the scolding would stick._

_But, alas, she wasn't his mother and she had to wait until Deb moseyed on, leaving the weasel unattended and ripe for a more subtle warning. Rounding another display, she smiled as she recognized the piece that weasel was standing in front of; it was one that she'd purchased earlier for her own mother, knowing that she'd love Justin's interpretation at the[rugged land surrounding the ranch](https://imgur.com/ubZca7s)._

_It was a lovely piece and she couldn't wait to get it home._

_Standing back and studying it for what felt like the dozenth time, Lucille bade her time until; finally, Jenny ran up to her grandmother, prattling on about something she'd seen in one of the other rooms. And then the little darling had grabbed her grandmother's hand and dragged her through the gallery, leaving weasel all alone._

_Good; she wanted to be sure that no one would interfere with this her discussion with Michael._

_"Michael," Lucille greeted, smirking when the idiot turned towards her with a confused frown; he obviously didn't remember their first meeting. She sidled up to him with a thin smile. "How lovely it is to see you again."_

_"Uh…hi?" Michael said, still confused; and it didn't bother her that he didn't recognize her. In fact, she would have prefered that he ignored her completely, and vice versa, if it weren't for the necessity of this talk._

_"Oh, forgive me," Lucille simpered, wanting this foul creature fully off guard. "We likely haven't been formally introduced, as the last time I saw you, there was some unfortunate incident with a…a fall off the ladder was it?"_

_"Right," Michael said in a tight voice, a grimace on his face as he recalled the situation she referred to. "How could I forget that?"_

_Lucille still had no idea what exactly had happened; she just knew that she and Leo had been at one of their 'family' dinners at Britin about two years ago, when Michael had come in sporting gashes and scratches all over his hands, face and arms. And his hair…well… there was some sort of sap or stick substance in it, and it had definitely seen far better days. She had been amazed that he hadn't far more harmed than he had been in the fall._

_"It was quite memorable," Lucille hummed, and then introduced herself because she wanted this asshole to sweat every time he heard her name after this night. "Anyways, I'm Lucille Brown; Leo Brown's wife and a good friend of both Brian and Justin. I do hope that you don't mind that I came up to talk to you; Brian and Justin speak of all of you so often that I feel like I know you."_

_"It's no problem," Michael said a bit hesitantly, a pleased smile spreading over his lips. Oh, but he won't be pleased for very long. "So, they talk about us a lot?"_

_"Oh, yes," Lucille said, linking her arm with Michael's and pulling him close; after all, she didn't want him to escape, nor did she want to be overheard. "They are particularly vocal about you; especially in the last few weeks. It seems you have been quite the busy man. Always looking out for your friends' interests; almost to the detriment of others."_

_"I…uh…" Michael stammered, catching the slight edge in her voice when she said those last few words; he looked around nervously, but no one was nearby to help him out, just as she'd planned. "Well, I suppose I have."_

_"Hmmm…" Lucille hummed again, but this time it was far less pleased sounding; and then she abruptly changed the subject to keep him off balance. No need to bludgeon him just yet. "I do so love this piece, don't you?"_

_"I suppose," Micahel said, and Lucille frowned at the sneer she detected in the his voice; she gripped his arm just a little tighter, drawing a small yelp past his lips. She smiled unapologetically as she'd love to do more than that to the little weasel. "I never really understood Justin's work."_

_"Yes," Lucille said, smirking internally as she set out to destroy this man's peace of mind for the night at the very least. "I suppose that with it being an abstract it would be a little confusing for those who refuse to see beneath the surface of the subject. But I've always loved them; it gives me the chance to feel the piece rather than just look at a pretty picture."_

_"I…guess," Michael grumbled, his expression souring as he stared at the pastel._

_"Like this one," Lucille said with a fond smile. "It makes me think of long, hard days, working on my father's ranch; this was before meeting and marrying Leo, of course. It looked a lot like this. All that open space, the hint of mountains rising in the distance, the cool, gray, early mornings and the deep red clay of the dirt. I can almost smell the rich, damp soil…it's such a lovely place. Justin did a magnificent job of capturing it."_

_"So this is of your ranch?" Michael reluctantly asked, obviously more than aware that he wasn't going to get loose any time soon._

_"Oh, yes," Lucille nodded, her fond smile growing as Justin flit across the room to find Brian. "That dear boy; he wanted to see it after all the times that we talked about it; so I offered it up to them for a few days when they were on their honeymoon tour."_

_"How nice for them," Michael said sourly, his face pinched as he watched Justin and Brian banter for a few minutes before exchanging a quick kiss and walking off in opposite directions once more._

_"Well, what are friends are for?" Lucille said, her voice growing hard and garnering the weasel's wary attention once more. "Plus, there is something so invigorating about being back there. I really miss it sometimes; especially when I run into troublesome problems or pests that need a firm hand."_

_"I see…" Michael said uneasily; although, she doubted he 'saw' just yet, but he would._

_"I was quite the cowhand in those days you know," Lucille said conversationally, warming to her topic. "My father was ever so proud of me. A lot females couldn't handle some of the tasks you must perform on a cattle ranch; too squeamish. But I was a dab hand if I do say so myself; never met a task that I couldn't master."_

_Michael remained silent, his brow pinched with confusion as he tried to follow her words; likely trying to figure out where she was going with this._

_"But what I was best at was herd management," Lucille continued with a diamond-sharp smile; one the bared far too many teeth to be a true smile. "You see, you can't just breed any bull with just any heifer, you know. It could adversely affect the quality of the herd. Like with any species, breeding to close along family lines can lead to genetic problems; but that's just common sense. For me, what I dealt with for the most part was making sure that undesirable traits and genetics didn't make it into the gene pool, and thus made sure to quickly cut them out before they could bring down the rest of the herd. Sadly, not everyone is so conscientious_ _of this."_

_"Uh…I don't understand…" Michael stammered, obviously still confused, but growing uneasy with the her tone and manner._

_"Oh, sorry, dear," Lucille apologized, even if her tone implied anything but. "I guess that I was being kind of vague; I was speaking of castration; bull castration to be precise since we had a cattle ranch. I was in charge of judging the merit and soundness of the male population of the herd; and then, when a bull was breeding too close to certain lines or were displaying unfavorable traits, or heaven forbid, aggression towards other members of the herd…well, we solved that with a quick little snip."_

_And there it was. Lucille smirked as Michael turned a violent shade of green and swallowed thickly. She cast his a faux concerned look, but pressed on as she wasn't going to let the weasel get away without making her point._

_"It's a very important task," Lucille said, smiling serenely as Michael struggled to remain still; but he was decidedly paler. "The safety and peace of the herd depends upon it. And I was so very good at my job. It has come in handy more than a few times over the years; especially when a male was being particularly aggressive and stubborn."_

_"I…uh…" Michael stumbled on his words, and then fell silent when nothing obviously came to mind, leaving Lucille to continue._

_"There are several ways to geld a bull, you know," Lucille said confidentially, an evil little gleam in her eyes as she saw Michael starting to grasp her words. "The most traditional way is cutting; but despite its efficacy, most people can't handle it because it takes a strong stomach to get through it. Thankfully, I've never had that problem. You see, you take a scalpel and cut the tip of the scrotum open and pull the testicles out. Sometimes they are cut off; but me, I've always preferred the method of pulling the cords until they've disconnected."_

_"You mean you…?" Michael trailed off, looking sicker by the moment._

_"Rip them out," Lucille bluntly stated, smirking when Michael flinched at the words. "Yes, that would be somewhat accurate. It is a painful method, but doesn't compromise the health one bit so long as you properly sanitize the area. And the best part of cutting? It can be done at any stage in the bull's life."_

_"I…uh…" Michael squirmed, looking desperately around for an escape; but Lucille just tightened her hold on him and continued in a conversational tone._

_"And then there is pinching," she said, ignoring all of Michael's attempts to leave._

_"Pinching?" Michael said, halting his movements as he stared at her with wide eyes._

_"Yes, dear," Lucille smiled blandly; she was enjoying this far too much. "You take a specialized tool that does exactly as the method implies – you wrap it around the cords of the testicles and clamp down, pinching them to such a degree that cuts off the blood supply and renders the bull sterile."_

_Michael swallowed harshly, his Adam's apple bobbing as he tried to work the bile or saliva past his constricted throat. He again looked ill; but Lucille felt no mercy for the little weasel. Every time she thought she might be going a bit overboard, she remembered the fear in Brian's voice and the despair in Justin's when they told her about the hospitalization and the lingering health issues due to this asshole._

_"I don't often employ that method however," Lucille said, scrunching up her nose. "Because, while there is no open wound, cutting back the chance of an infection, it isn't always effective if it's not done correctly; and that leads to having to do it again or employing one of the other methods. I've always felt that it was best to stick to the tried and true effective methods. Snip, snip."_

_"That's…" Michael again trailed off as he looked around the gallery for salvation; but few were looking his way, and those that were, turned their backs on him._

_"And then, there is banding," Lucille said a touch more cheerfully than she really should; but she hadn't had this much fun in a long while and the little weasel deserved it._

_"Banding…" Michael said, turning green again; was it something she said?_

_"Oh, yes dear," Lucille said, a smirk firmly planted on her lips. "With banding, which is becoming more and more popular these days, you take a tool and wrap what is essentially a thick rubber band around the scrotum and testicles. And this thick elastic cuts off the blood supply causing the testicles to simply fall off in the matter of weeks. I'm a little up in the air about this method; on the one hand, it is clean and there are no open wounds to speak of; however, there is also a risk of infection or tetanus. Although, I do wonder if you can employ this method with just any thick rubber band and without the tools; I suppose I'll have to experiment when I find a suitable subject."_

_"But…" Michael recoiled, looking sick at the idea._

_"I know," Lucille sighed, trying to look distressed by the idea; and then she went in for the kill. "It probably seems cruel and unusual to experiment with an untried method, but how do you think we come up the other methods? Trial and error, that's how. I'll have to keep my eyes open." Lucille paused and flashed a nasty smile his way. "Although, there is this one aggressive, stubborn young bull that I know, who can't seem to keep from terrorizing the rest; we'd want to nip that kind of behavior in the bud as soon as possible before he spreads his unpalatable traits onto the next generation. Or at the very least, before he can do so again. Thankfully, in the one he did manage to breed, the calf favored her mother and not him."_

_Michael paled, stunned speechless as he'd picked up on her meaning; and soon realized that this wasn't just idle chit chat, but a full blown threat. She held his eyes, making sure he understood that if she heard even one more peep out of him, or if he caused Justin even a shadow of a smidgeon of stress, he'd face her. And then she smiled benignly and patted his arm._

_"Oh, I am sorry, my dear," Lucille said, looking a bit sheepish. "I do get a bit passionate on the topic and forget myself; are you well? You're looking a little green around the gills. I could get you some ginger ale if you need it?"_

_"I…I have to go," Michael said, quickly disengaging his arm; and she allowed it this time._

_"Oh, well," Lucille called as the weasel quickly made his way towards the bar. "If you must; it was a pleasure talking to you, Michael. I do hope we can chat again some time."_

_And then she smile, looked at her pastel once more and turned on her heel to find her husband; she was certain that he was getting himself into mischief again._

 

Justin just stared at Lucille, torn between admiration and discomfort because, while he might despise Michael and his recent actions, he was a man. And threatening a man's balls was just wrong on so many levels. But yet, he also wished he could have witnessed the little showdown first hand. He exchanged an uneasy look with Emmett, who was squirming uncomfortably as well while the rest of the women laughed.

Note to self, never piss Lucille off.

"That is so awesome!" Molly exclaimed, her eyes wide with wonder and an evil little smile on her face. "Teach me your ways, Oh Mistress of Retribution…"

Justin shuddered at the thought, and then shared another commiserating look with Emmett; they needed that like they all needed another hole in their heads.

"Stick with me, kid," Lucille smirked, sipping coolly on her drink as if she hadn't just described, in great detail, the various ways she wanted to castrate Michael. Justin was suddenly glad that Deb had to work that night. "You ain't seen nothing yet."

"Well, after that entertaining and informative story," Daphne giggled as she pulled out a notebook "I now call the Luscious Ladies' Retribution Club to order."

"Excuse me," Justin huffed, arching a brow; he was so not letting her emasculate him.

"Sorry," Daphne said, rolling her eyes. "I call the Luscious Ladies' and _Men's_ Retribution Club to order."

"That's better," Justin said; because he was a man damn it, and no way was he going to be lumped in as an honorary Lady.

"That just doesn't have the same ring to it," Molly frowned thoughtfully.

"Tough," Justin said with a sour expression on his face. "I am quite attached to my dick; I have no intentions of getting rid of it any time soon."

"Are you sure of that, dear?" Lucille teased, making Justin lean away from her warily. "I happen to be quite skilled at…"

"Stay away from my privates, woman," Justin huffed, pointing at her while he protectively cupped his family jewels. "I will not be held responsible for Brian's reaction if you were to damage them."

The rest of the ladies laughed at his antics, but he exchanged a look with a wide-eyed Emmett who was shielding his own pride and joy and nodded. They were definitely keeping an eye out on Lucille and never, ever pissing her off.

**… … … … …**

 

An hour and a half later, Justin sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face as the meeting broke up; he was still trying to figure out the purpose of this little gathering. Or, well, he'd figured out that it had to do with Lindsay and them wanting to get even with Lindsay for her actions, but not much had been agreed upon. Something he found annoying because he was seriously missing cheesecake and sex for this? So, not fair.

And speaking of retribution…

Standing up, Justin held up five fingers to Molly and then pointed at Daphne; his sister nodded and then quickly engaged in a conversation with Lucille and his mother. He followed Daphne across the room, isolating the two of them from the rest of the gossiping women, a small frown on his face. He really needed to know what Daphne had been thinking when it came to releasing that video.

Not because he cared that it made Lindsay look bad; in fact, he'd found the entire thing funny when Kiki was telling him about it. It wasn't until later, after he'd thought about it, that he started to grow uneasy with their actions. This was going to paint a target on both Daphne and Emmett's back if Lindsay was feeling bitchy; and he didn't think that they had completely thought the consequences through.

Daphne looked up and smiled, but it quickly fell as she noted Justin's sober expression; she winced and nodded, as if she'd already known what Justin wanted to discuss. And she likely did; they'd been friends forever and could read each other like the back of their hands, much to the other's annoyance sometimes.

"Hey bestie," Justin said as he shoved his hands into his pockets. "We need to talk."

"You're mad about the video," Daphne guessed, cutting straight to the chase; and Justin had always appreciated that about her. She never played games.

"Not mad," Justin hedged; because he wasn't. He was worried; very, very worried that she'd opened a can of worms and this was going to blow up in her face. "A little annoyed though; and worried. There were a lot of personal things on there that I would have preferred not get out no matter how justified."

"Have you had the chance to see it?" Daphne asked, chewing on her lower lip; she crossed her arms across her stomach and leaned against the counter.

"No, I haven't looked it up yet," Justin admitted; he had planned to look it up last night, but Brian had been waiting for him when he'd gotten out of his studio and then Justin had forgotten about everything but him. "I've been a little busy since we got back from our trip and haven't had the time."

"We didn't send out the whole thing, Justin," Daphne said, trying to reassure him; and Justin was glad to hear that, but it didn't change the fact that this could be a time bomb waiting to go off. "We did edit it, bleeping out the names of innocents and… You remember that highlights video that Kiki made of Michael's and my argument?"

"Yes," Justin said; he had a feeling he knew where this was headed.

"It was more like that," Daphne said, twisting her hands. "It was just enough to hang her and Simon, even if no one knew his full name."

"It wouldn't take much to put things together based on the things we said," Justin pointed out; he knew that he'd let quite a bit out of the bag in their argument, and there was plenty that would narrow down who he was talking about.

"They both deserve it, Justin," Daphne hissed, her eyes flashing angrily; and Justin didn't deny that, he just thought going about it this way was risky. "After what they did to you; and I can't believe you never told me."

"I love you, Daph," Justin sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "But this is  _exactly why_  I never said anything. I know you; and I know you wouldn't be able to resist beating her ass down. And that would have ended very badly, because this bitch is vindictive enough to have you arrested for assault."

"She'd have to prove it first," Daphne huffed, not ready to concede; but Justin needed her to focus on the potential problems this attack could have raised.

"Trust me," Justin said, his lips compressing into a thin line. "She plays the victim very well; don't underestimate her, Daph. She plays dumb; and I agree that some of her actions aren't the brightest, but she's a pro when it comes to manipulation. I don't need you getting into hot water for this. Plus, I have no idea what the legal repercussions could be. It's not like there was anything that was said that wasn't true; and I doubt Simon will want to acknowledge it too closely, as accusing me of slander would open a can of worms he doesn't want; but you never know how people will react to something that has the potential to very publicly tarnish their reputation."

"We didn't think of that," Daphne flushed, her eyes now wide with worry as his words sank in. "We just wanted people to see how horrible a person Lindsay is…"

"While I appreciate the thought; please, don't do it again," Justin said firmly; and he did appreciate it, but not at the risk of her own happiness and freedom. "Not without mine and Brian's permission. There were things on there that can cause serious repercussions; and at this point in time, we don't need to escalate the situation."

"I just wanted them to pay," Daphne said in a small voice.

"I want them to pay too," Justin agreed with a nod. "And they  _will_ ; but this has to be handled the right way. And trust me; we have a plan in place. It was part of why we left – to work out our issues and figure out where to go from here."

"It doesn't seem right for her to get away with…" Daphne scowled, but then trailed off when Justin shot her an exasperated look.

"Oh, she's not getting away with a damned thing," Justin laughed mirthlessly, his own eyes burning. "And all those annoying little pranks you guys want to do, feel free. Just make sure it's legal and be careful; I don't need to bail the lot of you out of jail."

"Sorry," Daphne muttered, shifting on her feet. "I guess we didn't think this one through."

"Sorry's bullshit," Justin sighed, wrapping an arm around her and pulling her into a hug; he pressed his lips to her brow. "Just…until we know who all of the players are in this game, be careful. Brian and I would be devastated if something happened to you as a result of this."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, the last part is basically me being responsible and telling everyone - don't do that at home kids. I know that it's funny to see Lindsay get her just desserts in a spectacular way; but the fact is, this was something that was recorded in a private home, and potentially without one or more of the person's permission. Depending on where you live, posting that can get you into serious trouble. And yes, this is fanfic, and yes, things are as we make it, but I really did need to address the problems Daphne and Emmett could have brought onto themselves by doing this.


	95. March 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel really bad that I haven't responded to reviews lately; but I figured, if it came down to responding to reviews or writing the next chapter of my stories, you'd prefer the latter. I'm going to try to respond to as many as possible tomorrow, however. But, do know that I appreciate all of the comments; they really make my day!

**March 28 - Birth Class: Managing Labor Pain**

Brian yawned and set his toothbrush into its holder, wiped down the counter with a hand towel before tossing it into the hamper and then left the bathroom, flicking the light off as he headed out to the bedroom. Scrubbing a hand through his still damp hair, he walked over to the bed and joined an equally damp Justin, who was busy pulling up the website for their online birth classes, not that he was looking forward to it by any means.

Between spending all day at Kinnetik, browbeating his art department into producing something that at least passed as art; and then spending all evening taking care of Luc, since his favorite twat had offered them up for babysitting duty in order to give Blake his Teddy Time, he was exhausted. (Brian shuddered every time he thought about that.) And he'd love nothing better than to curl up next to his husband and sleep for the next twelve hours or more.

Sadly, because they were babysitting, that wasn't possible, as Luc would likely be awake within the next thirty minutes to an hour or so, demanding a change and his final bottle. So, they might as well do something utterly mindless while waiting. And he did mean utterly mindless as so far, he hadn't found much of worth in these so-called classes.

"You ready?" Justin asked, clicking on the link that would take them to the third class or chapter as they liked to call them.

"Is anyone ever ready for hours of mind-numbing torture, Sunshine?" Brian quipped, scooting closer to Justin and his laptop and then leaning back against the mound of pillows Justin had stacked up behind him.

"Stop exaggerating," Justin huffed as he queued up the introductory video; but Brian noted that he seemed less than enthused about this particular class and that had him dreading this coming set of videos. On the other hand, it might also give him a chance to get a little of his own back. "It's only twenty-three minutes long."

"Feels like hours," Brian muttered, yelping when Justin's pointy elbow buried into his ribs once again; well, at least most of the bruises had healed in the interim.

Justin huffed and turned back to the computer, unenthusiastically studying the page that read –  _Managing Labor Pain._  He snorted and quipped, "That's easy – give me drugs, the good ones."

"Now, now, Sunshine," Brian smirked, snickering when Justin continued to look at the page with little interest. He was definitely going to have fun with this one based on that expression alone. "You're stealing my lines."

"You know," Justin said as nonchalantly as possible, looking at Brian from the corner of his eye. "Seeing as how I'm having a c-section, and that by definition means drugs for pain management, we could skip this particular class."

And Brian was tempted to give in for a few seconds, because really, it hadn't been his idea to watch these classes in the first place. But then the need for revenge kicked in and he decided that it was only fair that Justin got to feel what the last two classes had felt for him. Plus, he still hadn't adequately paid the twat back for the triplets prank.

"Now, now, now, Sunshine," Brian said, a bland smile pasted onto his face. "You know better than that; what if we missed something important by skipping this?"

Justin's mouth dropped open as he turned and stared at Brian as if he'd grown a second head; Brian stared right back, his eyes wide and guileless, even as he was snickering on the inside. Justin scowled and huffed as he turned back to the computer screen

"This is payback for the first two classes, isn't it?" Justin groused, stabbing at the keyboard with no little amount of irritation.

"Oh, you bet it is," Brian said with relish, sinking further into the pillows with a smug grin. "Bet you're regretting forcing me to watch that nonsense now, aren't you?"

"I knew that was going to bite me in the ass," Justin muttered, yelping when Brian slid a hand down and squeezed said ass.

"Ah, but it is such a lovely ass to bite," Brian smirked, snickering when Justin smacked his hand away and started the first video.

**Can I Make Labor Less Painful?**

"I don't know,  _can_  you?" Brian asked their ever helpful birth guide, Edith; who was still wearing her boring, bland khaki suit jacket up against her bland boring white background. The least they could have done is changed it up every now and then; maybe then people would be popping NoDoz to get through these travesties. Why exactly had he refused to take a pass on these again? "What do you think, Sunshine?"

"Yeah, it's called drugs," Justin grumbled, shooting daggers at a far too smug and snickering Brian. He reached over to the mouse and navigated the cursor to the next episode button. "Next video."

"Well, I don't know, Sunshine," Brian said, grabbing his hand before he could actually click the button. Justin growled under his breath. Right. This was why he decided to go ahead with the class. Aggravated Justin in need of revenge was so much fun. "It might do us some good to watch this one just to see if there are other techniques that we can learn for before the drugs kick in."

"You are such a dick," Justin muttered under his breath; he flopped back onto the pillows, a pretty pout on his lips and stared balefully at Edith, who just continued to prattle on about how through endorphins and adrenaline, the body has it's own ways of lessening or worsening the pain of labor respectively.

He looked less than impressed with the information.

"You love my dick," Brian quipped, skillfully dodging a flying elbow and then capturing a disgruntled Justin against his chest, where Brian could control those evil little elbows and minimize the damage to his already aching ribs.

"Not at the moment," Justin huffed, working his hand free to pinch him in the thigh instead; the little shit. Brian bit back a yelp as he was determined not to give Justin the satisfaction of his pained reaction.

"I'll bet I can change your mind," Brian purred against his husband's ear, all but dripping sex into it and smirking when Justin squirmed in his arms.

But his husband remained silent, choosing to listen to Edith's words of wisdom, if you could call them that. She prattled on about endorphins being the feel good hormones that reduce the perception of pain, and that it was important to maintain a panic-free environment in order to produce a high enough level of them to potentially see you through a drug-free birth. Somehow, he didn't see that happening with Justin, even if he hadn't been scheduled for a planned cesarean.

"Ah, Edith," Brian fondly quipped, chuckling when Justin continued to scowl at their birth guru. "Stating the obvious once again; what  _would_  we do without her expertise?"

"You're the one that wanted to watch it," Justin said, his arms crossed over his chest; and honestly, Brian was having more fun watching his reactions than anything.

"I just think it's important to be aware of all our choices, Sunshine," Brian intoned piously, desperately trying to keep a straight face in the wake of his utter hypocrisy. Justin didn't bother to hold back, turning around to stare at him in utter disbelief. "Wasn't that what you were telling me last week?"

"Such a dick," Justin muttered as he turned back around and glared at the screen.

"It is magnificent, isn't it?" Brian preened, laughing when Justin huffed in indignation.

_"Adrenaline can slow labor, stressing the baby and making contractions more painful. Remaining calm and planning ahead can alleviate this; and one helpful way to do that is what you are doing right now – learning about birth. The more you understand what's going on, the less of a mystery it will be."_

"See Sunshine," Brian pointed to the screen. "Even she agrees with me. Be prepared!"

"I'm fairly certain that I will be far too drugged up to care what's happening around me, Brian," Justin snorted. "Panic is so not an issue here."

And he made an excellent point; considering there was going to be an anesthesiologist present in the delivery room, they were going to be giving him the good stuff; which meant that Justin wasn't going to have a care in the world once it took hold. Shrugging, Brian turned back to the video and rolled his eyes as she explained the fight-or-flight response and its negative impact on labor, potentially increasing a person's pain; and offering up ways to reduce the carriers panic and thus the production of stress hormones. As if they couldn't have figured that out on their own.

_"Another thing that helps is having a calm supportive person close enough to touch you," Edith said with a bland smile, "which has been shown to reduce stress."_

"Well, that rules you out," Justin snorted, giggling when Brian let out an offended huff. "Calm is not a word I'd ever use for you."

"I don't know, Sunshine," Brian smirked, teasing his hands along Justin's thighs as he ground his dick against Justin's ass. "I've always been told I'm great at stress relief…"

"Why does it always come back to your dick?" Justin mocked complained; smirking when Brian groaned as he ground back against him in retaliation.

"Why is that even a question?" Brian huffed, but then stopped teasing the twat as his husband never played fair.

**Pain Medication during Labor: How Common is it?**

_"One U.S. survey shows that eighty-six percent of carriers used drugs to cope with labor pain…" Edith informed them; this after telling them that there were a few options for pain medication during labor, the most commonly used being an epidural._

Again, it was nothing Earth shattering to Brian; or anyone who had actually done their homework for that matter. He kept waiting for something to come up that he hadn't heard a thousand times before; and so far, he'd been disappointed each and every time.

"That's because they're sane," Justin muttered, drawing a snort from Brian; he vividly recalled Justin shutting Lindsay's natural birth monologue down last month. And he couldn't resist giving his husband a bad time.

"But Sunshine," Brian mocked, barely quelling a snicker when Justin turned and gave him the evil eye. "Natural birth is an empowering, beautiful and spiritual experience."

"Then  _you_  do it," Justin retorted. "Me, even if drugs weren't required, because again – cesarean; I would be the first in line when they're passing out drugs like candy…"

"Oh, fuck that," Brian grimaced at the mere thought; he could barely stand stubbing his big toe, there was no way in hell that he would even attempt trying natural birth if he were indeed able to carry a child in the future. "Where in my past does it say that I'm someone that would ever forego the blissed out and happy about it route?"

"But honey," Justin simpered. "Don't you want to join the ranks of carriers that stubbornly powered through the pain like the brave little troopers they are?"

"No." Brian succinctly stated, making Justin snicker as he returned his attention to the video that was still playing in the background.

 _"It's important to note that natural techniques only help you_ _ **cope**_ _with the pain," Edith_   _gravely emphasized, as if she were imparting some great unknown secret and not just basic common sense. "It doesn't eliminate it."_

"All the more reason to embrace the drugs…" Justin muttered under his breath with a little laugh; which made Brian snicker as well. At least he had his priorities straight.

Brian sighed, already bored to tears by the topic, which seemed to be yet more overview opposed to dealing with the specifics of pain management; and why the fuck they need two introductory segments, he didn't know. Wouldn't have made more sense to put this together with the first video? The first one wasn't even three minutes long and this one hadn't even hit a minute and a half. It just seemed poorly planned.

"So, to recap," Brian said as the video came to an abrupt end, with Edith explaining that there was a range of options available. "Most carriers take the drugs, natural birth is going to hurt like fuck no matter what you do, and if you want drugs, you better speak up before the baby is ready to pop out or it won't matter if you have them or not."

Justin arched a brow and waited, knowing Brian well enough to figure that there had to be more to that statement, and he was just waiting for the other shoe to drop.

"I'm glad that we watch these things, Sunshine," Brian continued with a serene smile. "God knows how I'd survive without Edith here to fill me in on reams of useless information; who knows, I might actually have to use my common sense."

Justin huffed and flipped him off as he cued the next video.

**Natural Pain Relief: Breathing Techniques**

Brian stared at the screen and wanted to face palm; he had to admit, he was this close to cracking and letting Justin off the hook because he did not sign up for this shit. In fact, he very specifically chose not to sign up for classes for this very reason; because he knew eventually he'd be forced to do some pointless breathing exercise that everyone knew didn't do shit for relieving the contractions no matter how much you practiced.

But here he was, sitting in bed with his equally dubious, pregnant husband, watching their birthing expert demonstrate the appropriate way to breathe through a contraction, her face smooth, unlined and the epitome of calm. Yeah, right. He'd love to see just how calm she'd been when trying to employ these techniques during one of her actual births.

_"One breathing technique is to take slow, deep breaths that fill your lungs," Edith prattled, holding a hand against her diaphragm. "Typically; you'll breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. Listen to the sound of your breath as you exhale." She paused and took two huge breaths to demonstrate the appropriate method. "You can do them on your own or with your partner. Look each other in the eye and breathe together. Let's try that now."_

Brian exchanged a dubious glance with Justin as the watched their birth instructor take several more measured breaths, he assumed so that they could follow along if they so desired. He was feeling ridiculous sitting there, doing nothing but watch this woman breathe in and out; so. He decided to have a little fun at Justin's expense. He sat up, jostling the laptop and making it slide off Justin's lap. He spread his legs further apart and pulled Justin up against his chest to support his back, much like he'd seen the couples in the video doing in the brief flash of a Lamaze class.

"What are you doing?" Justin asked with a frown, his brows pinching with confusion, as Edith continued to coach them through their breathing exercise.

"Alright, Sunshine," Brian said once he had Justin sitting up properly; he grabbed Justin's hand and rested it just above his baby bump, and on top of his diaphragm. "You heard the woman, place you hand here and get ready."

"Brian…" Justin scowled and shot him a mutinous glare; likely because he was well aware that Brian was merely mocking him. "You know damned well that this is completely unnecessary since I'm having a  _cesarean_ ; there will be minimal to no labor."

And Brian did know that; in fact, that had been his entire point during the first two classes, and why he'd tried, unsuccessfully, to convince Justin to skip certain classes. But the twat had found his reactions to the various topics amusing and had pressed on despite the fact that they didn't apply to their particular pregnancy. Brian head every intention of getting his own bit of revenge for that.

"You never know, Sunshine," Brian blithely stated, ignoring his husband's irritated growl. " You could go into labor early and there might be a delay before they can get you into the operating theater. These exercises just might come in handy. Come on, now; practice with me – in for three counts and…ow!"

Brian cursed under his breath as a pointy elbow embedded itself into his gut. He should have expected that from the abusive little brat; but he was having for too much fun mocking this entire process to remember Justin's penchant for pummeling his body parts when he was displeased with the turn of events.

"That what you get for being a smart ass…" Justin huffed, grabbing the laptop and placing it back on his belly while Brian massaged his throbbing ribs. Just wait until this pregnancy was over; he was so pulling the brat over his knee and getting even for all of the spousal abuse he'd been subject to lately.

They settled back into watching the, frankly, pointless and mind-numbingly dull video just in time for it to switch over to, what he presumed was supposed to be the expert for this particular segment. The title beneath the name stated she was a doula, a professional birth coach, meant to discuss how proper breathing techniques helped ease contractions during birth. The only problem was, the woman talked in circles, repeating everything that Edith had just told them and in a less concise, clear manner.

"What exactly was the point to that?" Justin huffed as the woman prattled on about nothing. "I always thought that bringing in experts meant you were going to flesh out and expand on a point, not repeat the same damned thing you said not five seconds before."

"As I said before," Brian snorted. "You obviously chose the videos made for those with learning disabilities." He paused and snickered at Justin's disgruntled frown. "I do like the doula's Earth Mother vibe though; it really suits the background music and makes me want to ' _embrace the_   _natural ebb and flow of the contractions and breathe my way through_ '…ow!"

"Okay, Lindsay Junior…" Justin groused as Brian rubbed his arm; maybe he wouldn't wait until after the pregnancy. There had to be a way to spank his brat without doing harm to the baby. "You have fun with that; me, I'm having them knock me the fuck out."

"You take that back," Brian demanded, offended that Justin had even had the gall to compare him to Lindsay and her new age, Earth Mother bullshit.

"Make me," Justin challenged; and really, he should have known better than that. Brian never backed down from a challenge.

"Ohhh, you are so asking for it, Sonny Boy," Brian huffed; he paused the video, set the laptop aside, wrapped an arm around Justin's chest, and pinned him against him. Justin squawked with indignation as Brian rolled him over a bit, his stomach safely cushioned on the pillows and delivered four swift swats to his ass, two on each cheek. "Give up?"

"Never," Justin huffed, and then squirmed and moaned a bit as Brian delivered two more solid smacks to his ass before rubbing away the sting. "Fuck…Brian."

"I would," Brian smirked, flipping his husband back over and pulling him into the apex of his thighs, grinding his very interested dick into Justin's ass. "But sadly, you have us watching these inane videos and really, we should get back to that. Who knows what we'll miss if we were to get distracted now."

"Asshole," Justin muttered, rubbing his stinging ass as he grabbed the laptop; he set it back on his belly and hit play just in time for the doula to stop her rambling and cuing up 'real' moms and their vast experiences with said breathing techniques.

"Oh, 'real' mom testimonials," Brian deadpanned. "See, Sunshine; we could have missed out on watching these and that would've been a tragedy. I mean, they make me feel all warm and fuzzy, and included; it's like there is someone out there that really understands what we're going through."

"Ha ha," Justin snorted, rolling his eyes at Brian's over the top gushing. "You're a riot."

" _Breathing really helped and it sounds so simple," the_ first 'real' mom stated; and Brian couldn't help but wonder if they'd purposely picked women that looked washed out and like they hadn't slept in months to make a point; or if they'd told the make-up artist to make them look pale as ghosts on purpose. _"But just really paying attention to my breathing as I was going through a contraction and trying to focus on that rather than on the pain, which is a lot harder than it sounds, obviously._ "

"Did that make any sense to you?" Justin asked, his brow pinched as he stared at the screen utterly perplexed by whatever point the mom was trying, and failing, to make.

"I definitely feel like there was a whole point missing in there somewhere," Brian said; he shook his head, equally confused by way the woman's words had been cut off in the end, leaving a half finished thought dangling. "Someone in editing fucked up."

They both shrugged and then listened to the remaining testimonials that pretty much went against everything that Edith and the doula, Sunny, had tried to impart.

"So, to recap the mom testimonials," Brian hummed. "Breathing through it doesn't really work no matter what they tell you; the end. Look at that; I could have easily saved us from losing three minutes and ten seconds of our life."

"I could have told you that," Justin groused. "Hence the copious mentions of me spending the entire time drugged off my ass."

"I think the point is that any carrier could have told us that, Sunshine," Brian said, grabbing Justin's hands and lacing them together to avoid the impending smack, jab or pinch. "But aren't we lucky to have such an  _expert_  to fill in the gaps?"

"You're such an asshole," Justin said under his breath; groaning when Brian just grinned unrepentantly and cued the next video. "Why do I even put up with you?"

**Natural Pain Relief: Walking and Changing Positions**

"Well since I'll be hooked up to machines and won't be able to walk, this is pointless," Justin said as he once again tried to fast forward to the next video, growling when he was thwarted once again by Brian, who retained control of the laptop.

"Not necessarily," Brian said, smirking when Justin pouted. "After all, I'm sure there  _must_ be something that you can do despite having to stay on or near the bed."

"I don't know what's more disturbing," Justin huffed, glaring at a smiling Edith, again dressed in her requisite boring outfit; someone should really tell her that there are other colors other than brown and white. "Edith's bounty of bland, or you actually paying attention to the videos."

"But, Sunshine," Brian simpered, drawing his husband's perturbed frown. "I thought you'd be  _happy_  that I'm taking such a  _vested_  interest in your birth guru's words."

"If I thought you were even being halfway serious," Justin huffed, glaring balefully over his shoulder. "I'd be hauling your ass to the emergency room for a head exam."

Brian shrugged; it wasn't like he could keep the pretense up for long and really, he wasn't even trying to. Something that was obvious through his every action. Sighing, Brian listened as Edith informed them that moving positions could alleviate pain…blah, blah, blah…your own body will naturally guide you in this…yadda yadda…that it could help in getting your baby into a good delivery position. Again, it was nothing he cared about in the grand scheme of things as Justin wouldn't make it to this stage of labor. He did perk up, however when she listed things you can do and the potential for using some of the techniques, even if you were confined in bed.

_"You can try several types of movement and positions; for example, walk, stand, sway, lean against your partner or a wall, kneel on all fours, rock in a chair or on a birthing ball, lie on your side or straddle a stool. If you need to stay in or near your bed, it's still possible to give some of these a try."_

"See, told you so," Brian said, feeling decidedly smug.

"Bite me," Justin groused; Brian rolled his lips under and contemplated doing just that, but then held off as when he got started, he didn't want to be interrupted.

"Way too easy, Sunshine," Brian smirked, barely paying attention to the mom testimonials before he pressed the button to take them to the next video.

**Natural Pain Relief: Massage**

_"Physical touch can be a powerful comfort, whether it's light, soothing strokes, or firm pressure,"_ Edith said with a warm smile. And honestly, Brian had to bite his lower lip from making a particularly raunchy observation on those words. He must not have been too successful however as Justin instantly turned around and glared.

"Don't say it," Justin huffed, pointing a finger at him

"Say what?" Brian asked, all faux innocence.

"Please," Justin snorted as he looked back at the screen where the masseuse was demonstrating the double hip squeeze, pressing her loosely closed fists into the meaty parts of the hip on a pregnant woman draped over a birthing ball for support. "Like I don't know exactly where your mind went in that moment; I know you to well."

"Sunshine, really," Brian huffed in mock indignation, his hand pressed against his chest in mock offense. "You need to get your mind out of the gutter; must it always be about sex with you these days?"

Justin snorted at his utter gall, rolling his eyes as he fast-forwarded through the first exercise and landed on the second, the low back squeeze. Brian didn't bother to chide him on it either because he was starting to lose his own patience with the way these so-called experts rambled on and on in circles. Plus, he'd already learned these techniques when he learned prenatal massage last month.

"I'm not even going to dignify that with a remark," Justin huffed.

**Natural Pain Relief: Water**

"You know," Justin said, cocking his head to the right, and studying Edith; it was obvious that he was paying absolutely no attention whatsoever to what was happening or being said on the video. "I wonder if Edith actually needs glasses, or is it just an attempt to make her seem more authoritative."

"Image is everything in advertising, Sunshine," Brian said, letting the words flow over and fall off him much like the subject in the video. There was really nothing to say about this so-called relaxation and pain management technique that wasn't obvious.

"What? No other commentary?" Justin mocked, one brow arched.

"Honestly, I don't really have anything good or bad to say about this," Brian shrugged. "All it said was, if it hurts, try soaking in a bath or standing in a shower to ease the pain; which makes sense as you would do the same for sore muscles. Nothing to mock"

"There's a first," Justin snorted, yelping when Brian chose to pinch him on the ass for that bit of sass.

**Medical Pain Relief: Epidural**

"Here we go," Justin crowed, sitting up and looking alert for the first time since they'd started this little exercise about thirty minute ago. It should have been twenty minutes, but they'd spent a good ten minutes goofing off between and during videos, so it took them longer than the stated time. "Finally, something that's useful."

Brian had to agree that this was actually getting closer to their actual needs in terms of delivery assistance. While the other techniques were likely sound and helpful to a degree, including the video before this which covered systemic medications (which were delivered through an IV and were really only meant to dull the pain, not block it ); they weren't all that helpful for their delivery. Not that Brian was going to say that out loud.

"But I thought you enjoyed these things, Sunshine," he said instead, unable to resist needling his husband. "You're usually so enthusiastic about viewing them."

"I just don't see the point in learning about coping devices when I'm not going to actually go through the full birth process," Justin grumbled.

"Kinda like learning the stages of birth last week?" Brian prompted, smirking when Justin scowled and refused to answer. "Yeah, that's what I thought; welcome to my hell, Sunshine. Enjoy the Twinkies."

"Asshole," Justin huffed, jabbing Brian in the gut with his elbow; but it didn't do much damage this time as Brian had wisely placed a pillow there in the guise of supporting Justin's back, but really was meant to protect him from his tetchy husband's abuse.

His smirk broadened as he turned towards the video and then paled as he watched the anesthesiologist prepping a pregnant woman's back with iodine and then hold up a long, thin tube that had to be at least three inches in length and inserted it into an equally long metal casing. He squirmed as they then pulled out a skeleton and demonstrated just where the epidural would be inserted near the spine as Edith did the voiceover.

_"Here's how it works. An anesthesiologist or nurse anesthetist will numb a small patch of skin on your lower back. Then you'll stay very still while he inserts a tiny tube between two of your vertebrae into the space near your spinal cord. This small area is called the epidural space, which is where the procedure gets its name."_

"They call that tiny?" Brian asked, flinching a little at the thought of that thing being jabbed into his husband's back.

"Well it is rather slender…" Justin hummed, but even he looked a little pale and squeamish as the anesthesiologist fumbled a bit with the placement; and Brian couldn't help flinching again. He really hoped their anesthesiologist was much more competent.

"That is a big fucking needle-like tube, Sunshine," Brian said, swallowing harshly as the woman came back on the screen and she made a noticeable flinch forward as the anesthesiologist pressed against her back. "And they're shoving it into your spine."

"They are not," Justin protested weakly; but he too had noticed that flinch and didn't look very happy about it all. "It's being inserted into an area between the vertebrae; she just said that. There is a noticeable gap there."

"It looks all the same to me from where I'm sitting," Brian muttered, shuddering when he replayed the demonstration back in his mind.

"Do me a favor," Justin huffed, looking as if he'd rather be anywhere than there at the moment. "If you can't handle it, leave the room; I do  _not_  need you passing out on me."

Brian hummed; he was fine. Really. He could totally handle this…so long as he didn't actually have to watch it being inserted. And actually, if he remembered correctly, he wouldn't even be allowed into the operating theater until after the drugs were administered, so that solved that problem all around.

 _"Once the tube is inserted,"_ Edith continued as the anesthesiologist soothed the poor, traumatized looking woman. _"You won't feel it; and it contains a combination of a local anesthetic and a narcotic, can take between fifteen to forty minutes to take affect and provides long-lasting relief."_

"Thank fuck for that," Justin muttered, still a shade paler than normal; and he did look so much happier when they switched back to Edith and her bounty of bland.

 _"Even better?"_ Edith said. _"The dose can be adjusted according to the fluctuation of your pain levels throughout your labor and very little of the medication reaches your baby, since hardly any of it enters your bloodstream."_

"Bonus!" Justin shouted, pumping his fist into the air much to Brian's amusement.

 _"The main downfalls however are that it can make you lose sensation in your lower body, which means you'll likely be confined to bed."_  Edith continued; Brian sighed, because that just sounded like so much fun. Justin hated being confined to bed and he could just see his stubborn twat trying to get up despite the warnings and recommendations.  _"And the pushing stage may take longer due to it. You'll also need an IV, frequent blood pressure monitoring and fetal monitoring. And there is a greater chance of needing assisted delivery with this method."_

"See?" Justin huffed, looking disgruntled to have been proven right. "I told you the whole walking thing was a bust. Thankfully the rest of the downfalls are a non-issue since I'll be having a cesarean. That is, if they employ this method."

"All the perks without any of the pitfalls," Brian quipped. "Sign me up."

**Medical Pain Relief: Spinal Block**

Brian pushed play on the final video and sighed with relief; this couldn't come a moment too soon as he was thoroughly done with Edith's prattling for the evening. Not to mention, Luc was likely going to wake-up at anytime demanding his midnight snack. Resting his head on the top of Justin's, Brian closed his eyes and let the words wash over him as he desperately tried not to fall asleep.

 _"A final form of medical pain relief is a spinal block,"_ Edith said as Brian tried, and failed, to stop himself from cracking a yawn. _"A single injection of narcotics inserted directly into your spinal fluid, which blocks pain in your lower body. What makes it different from an epidural is that it takes effect more quickly, but because it's a single dose opposed to a continuous flow, it lasts only a few hours."_

"Hey, no falling asleep on me," Justin huffed, pinching Brian in the side; he flinched and jerked away from his husband's wicked fingers.

"I'm not sleeping," Brian mumbled, but he kept his eyes firmly shut.

"Please, I'm pretty sure I just heard you snore," Justin snorted, jostling Brian's perch on his head as he tipped it and stared at him balefully, poking him continually in the side until he looked down in irritation.

"I do not snore," he huffed, rolling his eyes when Justin snorted again.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Your Surliness," Justin smirked. "I'm certain that I heard your deviated septum rattling away…ow!"

"Serves you right, Brat," Brian smirked as Justin scowled and rubbed his ass, where Brian had firmly pinched it. "That's what you get for being mouthy. Now, please, for the love of God; can we just finish this video before my brain leaks out of my ear?"

Sure," Justin said agreeably; Brian narrowed his eyes and stared at his husband, who smiled sweetly and quipped. "After all, I wasn't the one who insisted on watching it."

Brian huffed and rolled his eyes, but he remained silent as there was no way for him to combat that observation; he had indeed insisted on this in some misguided bid for revenge on his husband. He hadn't really thought that one through.

 _"It is also the form of medical relief that will likely be recommended if you're having a planned c-section, since the medicine will numb you for more than enough time to perform the surgery."_ Edith sated; Justin huffed out his annoyance at those words, and Brian didn't blame him. _"But like an epidural, you'll need an IV and continuous monitoring throughout and you won't be able to get out of bed."_

And then finally the video mercifully went black and they'd ended yet another round of weekly birth class torture. Justin scowled.

"I can't believe that we had to go through all that," he said with exasperation, gesturing to the blank screen with his hand. "To find the two minutes of useful information in the entire series of videos, what the hell?"

"Well, looks like they saved the best for last, Sunshine" Brian huffed, shutting down the laptop and setting it onto the nightstand on Justin's side of the bed. "As always."

"I'm just glad that it was the last one," Justin groaned, stretching as he sat up; he threw his feet over the edge of the bed and slowly stood up. "I don't think I could stomach any more of these videos tonight."

"So does that mean you're giving up on the classes?" Brian asked hopefully; because fuck, he hoped that Justin would call it quits now that he'd been on the receiving end.

"Nope," Justin quipped, a sly smile spreading across his face as he turned to Brian. "The next four weeks are actually much more informative and cover things we haven't discussed. Like next week covers medical procedures during birth, like c-sections. You know; the thing I'm going to have. That's why I was offering to skip this class as it covered a bunch of unnecessary information. But you just had to be stubborn."

"Fuck me," Brian groaned and dropped his arm across his face; it seemed that he'd really shot himself in the foot with this little act of revenge. No wonder the twat hadn't been as vocal in his protests as Brian had been; he should have known that Justin had another card up his sleeve.

"I'd love to, honey," Justin simpered, smiling sweetly. "But Luc will likely be waking up soon and we don't want to be interrupted. It's a shame that we had to waste all that time on the classes. You could've gotten lucky twice tonight."

"I hate you," Brian muttered, burying his face into his pillow and barely quelling the urge to scream and inadvertently waking the baby before it was time.

"Next time, you'll listen to me, won't you?" Justin said just a touch smugly as he waddled towards the bathroom, laughing as Brian growled into his pillow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I forgot to include this last time, but the pastel in the last chapter was by Joanne Last, and was only referred to as an Abstract Landscape. I’m not sure if there was another title for it.


	96. March 29 (Part One)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one took me a while as I wasn't really sure where I wanted to take it until this afternoon (Sunday); hopefully it turned out okay despite the lack of direction.

**March 29 (Part One)**

Justin stirred and rubbed his face into his body pillow; His brow furrowed and he tried to figure out what exactly had woken him up, but he couldn't hear anything out of the ordinary. And he was much too comfortable to actually open his eyes to investigate. Rolling onto his back, he reached out and discovered the empty, but still warm place where his husband usually slept. Maybe that was what had startled him out of sleep.

Sigh, Justin rolled back over on his side and cuddled up to his body pillow once again and debated on whether or not he should get up. Blinking his eyes open, he stared at the clock and then groaned when he saw that it was only six in the morning. No way in hell was he ready to get his ass out of bed.

"Hey, kiddo," Brian said, his voice tinny and far away, as if it were coming out of a radio of some sorts; and Justin furrowed his brow as he knew there was a reason for that, but he couldn't quite place it. "What are you fussing about in here?"

A small whimper sounded in the background, and it clicked; that's right, they had Luc over last night so that Blake could get his Teddy Time in. Justin scrunched up his nose at the name, but what was he to do. So long as Blake didn't share the details of Teddy Time, he could call it whatever the fuck he wanted. Nothing against Ted; he was adorable in a bookish way; but he was also like an older brother and hearing about his sex life was just a world of ick in Justin's opinion.

He wouldn't want to hear about Molly's or Em's either.

Justin laid there and sighed, knowing that he should get up and help Brian with Luc, but he was comfortable and the bed was just so warm and inviting, that he was having trouble convincing himself to do it. And he had just about talked himself into getting up when Brian's voice sounded through the room again; only this time, Justin realized that he was hearing it through the baby monitor that Brian had left behind when he went to get Luc out of the nursery.

"Awww," Brian cooed, making Justin grin because he was just too fucking adorable sometimes; anyone whoever thought that Brian would be a bad parent were fucking out of their minds, because the man would move heaven and hell for all of their babies. "Now don't do that little man; no crying. We don't want to wake your Uncle Justin up. He had a late night last night because of you and he needs all the sleep he can get."

Justin bit his lip on a laugh; while he did appreciate the gesture, Brian should know by now that Justin couldn't sleep all that well when Brian left the bed. Plus, leaving the baby monitor behind certainly didn't help matters; even if he wasn't talking a mile a minute to Luc, Justin would have been woken up by Luc's whimpers and the shuffling around.

"Alright, let's see what we've got here," Brian said, opening and closing some doors; likely getting a changing pad out for the changing table. And then Justin did giggle a bit as he heard the diaper pull apart and Brian gagged.

"Holy sh…oot," Brian groused, quickly changing the word at the last minute. "What the hell are your parents feeding you, kiddo?"

Biting on his bottom lip, Justin's snorted and giggled, using his pillow to muffle the sound as Brian continued to make disgusted noises and Luc just cooed.

"Whatever it is," Brian huffed as he shuffled some things around. "They might want to have it checked for radioactivity. Because I have seen dirty diapers before, kiddo," Brian paused and Justin could hear the snap of a lid opening. "And let me tell you, your cousin Gus was a real stinker when he was your age; but I don't think I've ever seen one this shade before."

Justin snorted again, his shoulders shaking with mirth as he remembered the first time Brian had to deal with a blow out. It had been one of the single most amusing things he had ever seen; and he'd really wished that he'd had a camera or video recorder of some sort to document the event; because Brian's expressions were truly priceless.

"What color do you think Uncle Justin would call this?" Brian continued his one-sided conversation, Luc just squeaking or cooing every now and then. "Loathsome Lime maybe?" Brian paused and Justin could hear the lid to the trash can popping open and the quiet crinkle of something dropping into it. "No, far too much yellow here."

Shaking his head, Justin briefly considered reaching for his phone to record the rest of this conversation, as no one would believe him if he ever worked up the nerve to tell them; but then he remembered the motion sensor camera in the room and grinned. As far as he was aware, the live feed was still active and would record to his laptop.

"How about Putrid Pear?" Brian mused; and Justin could almost see him cocking his head thoughtfully. "I think we're getting closer; but still not quite right."

Justin slapped his hands over his mouth, his eyes tearing as he tried to contain his laughter; only Brian would come up with names like that. Pulling his hands away, Justin smirked when Luc seemed to make a noise of agreement.

"How about Noxious Chartreuse?" Brian said, and then huffed when Luc squeaked. "What, you don't like that? Everyone's a critic. Although, I do admit it wasn't my best work; I tried finding a c-word for noxious, but couldn't. Life lesson time, kiddo – always admit to your limitations. Don't try to prove yourself to someone who is not worth your time at the end of the day. The only person you need to prove anything to – is yourself. Uncle Brian had a tough time with that lesson when he was younger."

Justin smiled, his eyes tearing for an entirely different reason this time. God, that man; sometimes he just killed Justin with his words and observations. And again, he wanted kill his ice bitch of a mother. He'd add Jack to that as well, but sadly, his asshole of a father was already writhing in hell for his part in Brian's shitty childhood. And, although he really wished that he could give the asshole a licking or two, he couldn't think of a better place for the sadistic fuck. He hoped he enjoyed being Satan's bitch.

"And your parents and I are really going to have a talk about what they are feeding you," Brian huffed. "Because colors like that shouldn't exist in nature; I think it's actually trying to eat its way out of the bag," Justin laughed as Luc cooed. "Oh, _that_ you found funny. Why doesn't that surprise me? Obviously, you're going take after your Daddy Blake. He finds the oddest things amusing as well."

Justin smiled and rested his hand on his belly; he couldn't wait until Sunbeam was born. Brian was going to be an amazing Daddy; not to say he already wasn't. He doted on both Gus and Jenny to the point you'd think that she was theirs, not Michael's. But, he also knew that Brian hadn't gotten to spend a lot of time with Gus when he was this young, and that was a damned shame.

"Plus, when he teams up with your Uncle Justin," Brian said confidentially as he snapped the wipes closed; or so Justin assumed by the snap. "They are double trouble; and they have the ability to create a level of chaos that would make even Loki envious."

Justin huffed and rolled his eyes; he and Blake weren't that bad. Sure, things had gotten dicey a couple of times, and there was that time that he, Blake and Emmett had gotten arrested and needed to be bailed out for disturbing the peace. Luckily, it had been a minor infraction, with a minor fine; but Brian never let him forget about it, calling him his little jail bird considering the time his father had him arrested for trespassing.

That asshole.

"Alright, what did your daddies pack for you to wear today?" Brian asked, continuing to chatter at Luc, who was, for the most part, being quiet. Justin rubbed his face and grinned knowing just what was in the bag and was just waiting for his husband to scream bloody murder when he saw them; which was pretty close to happening when Brian gasped in horror. "No, just no; there is no way in hell that this thing is touching your body. What the hell were your parents thinking?"

Justin snorted; there was his fashion diva. He giggled at the outraged noises coming over the baby monitor as Brian continued to dig through the bag.

"Christ there are more of these things," Brian huffed, and Justin could just imagine the disgruntled look on his face as he held up each jumper. "Only Ted would look at a plaid jumper and think it was the best thing ever. I apologize for your parents' lack of taste, kiddo. Tell you what, when you get older and begin to understand the concept of fashion, you come to me and I'll set you straight."

Justin snickered, and he could just see the shopping trip that Brian would justify in order to help his nephew out and keep him from being a laughingstock in the baby world.

"Let's see what Uncle Justin has in here," Brian continued, talking to Luc as he looked through the dresser drawers. "Because I refuse to let you wear that travesty, and with as much shit he and everyone else has bought, I doubt he'll miss anything. This will work."

Justin huffed, and he'd get annoyed by that statement, but Brian was likely right. Between Emmett, Lucille, Yasmeen, Kiki, Debbie, his mother, Cynthia, and Brian himself, he was going to have the best dressed kid in Pittsburgh. He hadn't had to buy one thing himself because he was always getting packages in the mail from one of them.

"Okay kiddo," Brian huffed, closing drawers and setting the room to rights. "Now that you're changed, cleaned and clothed; let's go down to the kitchen get you that bottle. I'll bet you're starving and this way Uncle Justin can sleep a little longer."

Justin listened as Brian continued to babble to Luc as they headed out the door, closing it behind him. He briefly considered getting up, but looked at the clock again, and finding that only about fifteen minutes had passed, said fuck it. He closed his eyes and drifted off into sleep, knowing that Brian had this and didn't need him hovering.

**… … … … …**

Justin stood in the doorway to the study and smiled, watching as Brian sat on the floor in front of the coffee table, working on the computer and absently bouncing a cooing Luc. Seriously, his husband was maxing out the cute points today; not that he'd tell him that. If he even dared to breathe the word cute in reference to him, Brian was liable to show him just how not-cute he could be; which could be lots of fun if they were alone, but not until while Luc was still here.

Sighing, Justin's smile broadened when his husband looked up and smiled in greeting, waving him over to where he was sitting. Justin walked over and sat on the couch that Brian was leaning against; there was no way in hell that he'd be able to sit on the ground like that without it being an utter pain in the ass to get up. Justin wrapped his arms around Brian's neck as he tipped his head back and dropped a kiss onto his lips.

Pulling back, Justin rested his head against Brian's for a moment and then sat back on the couch and started to shuffle through the papers in his hands, knowing that Brian would eventually ask him what he was doing. Justin knew that he had to handle this next part carefully because he already knew that Brian wasn't all too happy with him for allowing this to happen in the first place. Humming to himself, he made a couple of notations on the papers, smirking internally as he watched Brian watch _him_ from the corner of his eyes. He knew it was only a matter of time.

Tucking his pen behind his ear, Justin shuffled the papers again, fighting back a smile as Brian didn't bother to make a pretense of watching him any longer. Did he know his husband or what? Justin made a noise and then pulled his pen from behind his ear and made another notation, knowing the Brian was break down and say something; and about two minutes later, he was proven right.

"What are those?" Brian asked, nodding to the small sheaf of papers in Justin's hands; Justin hummed absently and looked up.

"What?" he asked absently, biting back a laugh as Brian nodded towards the papers again. "Oh! You remember that e-mail I sent out earlier in the month basically telling people to leave me the fuck alone about baby names?"

"You mean the one where you invited them to name our kid?" Brian scowled, his eyes narrowing as he stared at the papers like he wanted to ri them from Justin's hands. "Yes, I vividly recall that email, but I was hoping that it had been a nightmare."

"Well, guess what, honey!" Justin quipped, smirking when the scowl darkened.

"Oh God, no," Brian huffed, glaring at Justin for good measure.

"Yup," Justin nodded, feeling quite pleased with himself.

"No, Justin," Brian huffed again, groaning when Justin just arched a brow.

"These are the lists," Justin said, smiling serenely and waving them in front of Brian's face. "I thought we'd go through them today while Luc napped."

"I thought you were going to toss them out?" Brian groused, a sour expression on his face; a _nd_ he was still glaring at said lists like he was hoping he could burn a hole through them with sheer will power alone.

"No," Justin drew the word out; and then he pulled the lists away and held onto them against his chest when Brian tried to snatch them from his hands. "I said we were going to mine them for any potential good names and then toss them out."

"Well, you might as well toss out Mel's right now then if Abraham and Jenny Rebecca is any indication of her naming abilities," Brian sneered, turning back to his computer; but Justin knew that he had his attention now.

"Be nice," Justin chastised gently.

"That was being nice," Brian snorted and cast an exasperated look over his shoulder. "I could have said, ' _shred that list now because she can't name for shit..._ '"

"So," Justin drawled, tapping the papers against his lips. "What I'm actually hearing is, ' _please read that one first so I can be entertained_.'"

"You know, that explains so much about our first interactions," Brian rolled his eyes and snorted again. "It wasn't that we didn't communicate; it was that the words spoken were lost in translation, which is why you took, ' _go the fuck away,_ ' as ' _please, stalk my ass until I give in'_ …ow! Violent brat."

"You loved the fact that I was stalking your ass," Justin said, snorting when Brian rubbed the shoulder Justin had just swatted.

"Duh," Brian smirked. "Here I was, pushing thirty, and being stalked by this gorgeous, teenage, blond twink. Do you have any idea what that did for my ego?"

"Made it expand to the point that it needed its own zip code?" Justin quipped, yelping when Brian leaned over and pinched him on the ass. "Would you lay off the ass? It's sore enough already."

"Well, come on over here, Sunshine," Brian purred, his eyes running covetously over Justin's body; and Justin couldn't help but squirm. "And I'll be happy to soothe it."

"What, with your tongue?" Justin quipped, arching a brow.

"See, you do know me," Brian returned; and then arched his own brow. "Besides, I didn't hear you complaining about it last night."

And he hadn't; it was hard to complain when your husband had his tongue in your ass and was slowly taking you apart until you couldn't help but come all over yourself. And then yanked you down to the foot of the bed and fucked you until you passed out. Clearing his throat, Justin flushed and turned back to his papers; but not before he caught Brian's knowing smirk. Asshole.

"As intriguing as the offer is, it still won't get you out of this," Justin said, waving the papers once again, needing to get this back on track before he said fuck it and begged Brian for a repeat of last night's adventures.

"I really don't see the point," Brian huffed dismissively. "We've heard their suggestions before, Justin; we're not going to suddenly change our minds about their naming abilities, or lack there of."

"So you don't want to hear your Sonny Boy's admissions?" Justin said, going in for the kill; there was no way that Brian would refuse to look at Gus' submissions. Or Jenny's for that matter. "Or Jenny's?"

"Well…" Brian hedged, and looked like he wanted to say no just for the principle of it; but it was a battle he quickly lost based on the glare sent Justin's way. "Damn it; you are a sneaky, little twat, playing on my weaknesses that way."

"I learned from the best," Justin preened, fluttering his lashes. Brian rolled his eyes, and turned fully around, resting his head on Justin's knee.

"So what did Gus send?" Brian asked, actually curious this time.

"You know," Justin hummed, a calculating glint in his eyes. "I think I'll save that one for last. This way I can make sure that I have your full attention for the others."

"Devious brat," Brian mock complained; and then he studied Justin shrewdly. "You do know that I can easily pin you down and take them from you?"

"I know," Justin nodded; and then smirked before Brian could feel too smug. "That's why I took the names off of the lists and coded them in a way that only makes sense to me."

"I am duly impressed by your underhandedness," Brian said with an approving smile; and then he sighed with resignation. "Fine, let's get this shit over with so I can actually get something of worth done today."

"Let's see here," Justin said, having far too much fun with this. "Why don't we start with Mel; since I know you're just looking _so_ forward to hearing what she's suggested."

"This should be good," Brian muttered, his tone implying anything but admiration. "Well, come on Sunshine; lay it on me. Although, I can already tell from your expression that I'm going to hate this."

"Right," Justin said, desperately trying not to laugh at Mel's list. "So from Mel we have Horace, Tom, Dick, Harry, Peaches, Abner, Raine, Sunny and Mildred. We also have Noah, Adam, Eve, Judas, Ethan, Jemimah, Minerva, and Karma. And finally, she also suggested Athena, Orla, Waverly, Chastity, Destiny, Lou, Ken and Barbie."

Justin looked up and burst into helpless laughter as he noted his husband's horrified fascination as he stared at Justin in disbelief. God, but Mel had gotten him good. Brian opened and closed his mouth a few times before shrugging helplessly.

"For the first time in my life, I've got nothing," Brian admitted. "She has actually managed to stun me into speechlessness. Please, tell me this is a joke."

"Well, she did add a note on the end," Justin snickered, turning back to the email. "She says, and I quote, ' _I didn't bother to put any effort into a list of names as I know that you're just going to shred the lot and burn them anyways. Consider this as payback for the Abraham crack, you assholes_ ;' end quote."

"Well, it's nice to know that she isn't still bitter all these years later," Brian snorted; and then he visibly shuddered. "It's safe to say that this list will definitely be thrown into the kindling box without further thought."

"Well, think of it this way," Justin nodded, tossing the email to the side. "It can only get better from here." Or, at least he hoped.

"You are such an optimist, Sunshine," Brian said, shaking his head. "An admirable quality to be sure; but, me? I'm a realist and have known most of these people a lot longer than you have. Trust me on this; we're only scratching the surface of the bad."

Justin sighed because he knew that his husband was right; but he really did want to go through these lists for the potential rare gem that might be in them. The problem was how to get Brian invested in it as well; he could already see his husband already losing interest with the lists and he'd rather not feel like he was pulling teeth to keep Brian's attention. Pressing the papers to his lips, he studied his husband for a minute, trying to figure out a way to engage his interest and then smirked when he hit on it.

"Actually, let's make a game of this," Justin announced, his smirk broadening when Brian instantly perked up. "Give me a number from one to nine, as Jenny and Gus will be last and there are nine lists besides theirs. I'll read off the names, and you have to guess who made the list. Based on the number of right answers, you'll win a prize."

Brian cocked his head thoughtfully. "Do I get to choose the prizes?"

"Sure," Justin agreed with a little shrug. "But, you have to decide on them and hand them into me now so that there is no going back and changing your mind later."

"Fine," Brian nodded, grabbing a sheet of paper and a pen from his open briefcase. "Oh, this is going to be so much fun Sunshine; give me five minutes."

Justin nodded his agreement and then grabbed his own pen and began numbering the pages one through nine, and then flipped them upside down and put them to the side. He watched as Brian chuckled and wrote his list, scratching things out and rearranging things until he was satisfied with the list. And then he copied it onto a clean sheet of paper before handing it over to Justin.

He looked over and smirked; Brian was just so predictable sometimes:

_A full-body massage to be given at the winner's choice._

_A blow job at the winner's request, privacy permitting._

_"No Clothing Allowed at Home" for the day._

_Toy or fetish clothing shopping with the appropriate breaking in._

_Strip tease and a lap dance wearing a favorite or chosen outfit._

_Must wear the remote-controlled sex toy of choice for three hours._

_Kink night – winner's choice of kink for the night._

_Slave for a day._

_A marathon fuck weekend no holds barred._

"Well, you're not asking for much," Justin said dryly, but he agreed to the terms and signed the paper and then handed it back to Brian. "So how did you see this working?"

"For every one that I get right," Brian said with a sly grin. "I get a reward, starting from the bottom of the list, number one – the full-body massage – and going up to number nine – the sex marathon weekend."

"Greedy," Justin chastised. "But doable; although, you do realize that some of these things are going to have to wait until after Sunbeam is born. Because, as much as I'd love to, a lap dance just isn't happening any time soon."

"Not to worry, Sunshine," Brian purred, a lascivious smile on his face. "You can write me an IOU and I'll cash it in at the appropriate time."

"Fine," Justin huffed, rolling his eyes at his husband's antics. "First number?"

"Nine," Brian said, waggling his eyebrows. "It's the best number, Sunshine."

"You would choose the longest one first," Justin snorted. "No pun intended. Here we go: Aidan, which means little fire; Brendan, which means prince; Enda, which means free as a bird; Jamie, a derivative of James; Liam, a derivative of William," Justin paused when Brian snorted, but continued as he waved him on. "Ronan, which means little seal; Tiernan which means little lord; Aine, which means radiance and joy; Brigid, which means powerful or high one; Ciara, which means dark; Deirdre, which means fearsome one; Erin, which means Ireland; Rian/Rianne, two different spellings, masculine and feminine on that, and it means little king; and Saoirse, which means freedom. They also included phonetic spellings of the names. Who is it?"

"That's easy, Sunshine," Brian said, casting a dubious look Justin's way. "Between the fact that they are all Irish names, and anal retentive attention to detail, there is no way in hell that is anyone but Daphne and Liam. I thought these would be difficult."

"I did notice a theme there," Justin smirked, jotting down a slash in the right column.

"Well, that's to be expected since Liam was born in Ireland," Brian shrugged. "Plus, no one other than Daphne would be that anal about their list; except for maybe you. The both of you are little over achievers."

"Well, that's one right," Justin said, setting the paper aside. "Eight more to go. Next number please; one through eight this time since you eliminated nine."

"Wait, let me write down these names," Brian said, jotting the names onto another piece of paper. "Brendan, Jamie, Ronan, Aine, and Rian/Rianne. Any others?"

"Noted," Justin nodded, liking the choices as well; he picked up the list and studied it. "Add Ciara as well; next number?"

"Five," Brian said, as he wrote the name down.

"Okay, "Justin said, pulling out the appropriate list. "The names listed on number five are: Madison, McKenzie, Jayden, Ava, Susan, Francis, Ashton, Bailey, Lane, Ellis, Leslie and Ellery."

He looked up after reading the list to find Brian staring at the ceiling, his brow pinched.

"Um," Brian hummed, shrugged and made a guess. "Mother Taylor?"

"Nope," Justin said, popping the P on the end. "That list was from Lucille and Leo; although, I could see my mother suggesting some of those names." Justin added a slash into the wrong column. "So, you're one for one right now."

"Fine," Brian huffed. "I'm adding the names McKenzie, Ashton and Ellis. Any others?"

"Ashton?" Justin asked, casting a doubtful look at his husband.

"Ash would be a cool nickname," Brian simply said, and then reiterated. "Any others? And the next number I choose is three.

"You're a freak; an no others for me," Justin huffed, shaking his head. "Okay, you said three?" Brian nodded. "List number three is Emma, Jackson, Lucas, Avery, Kai, Blair, Olivia, Isabella, Parker, Evan, Jordan and Payton."

"That has to be Mother Taylor," Brian said with barely a thought. "Don't even tell me it isn't. That just sounds do like her."

"Yup," Justin said, noting the right answer in the appropriate column. "Well, it's an email from Mom, Tucker and Molly; but same difference."

"More like just Mom," Brian snorted.

"Well, yes," Justin laughed; he couldn't see Molly or Tucker caring one way or the other what they named Sunbeam. "Any of those you want to keep?"

"Avery and Evan," Brian said, noting them on his paper. "They both sound nice and gender neutral. You?"

"I kind of like Kai," Justin hummed; and if he remembered correctly, it was listed as unisex in the baby name book. "And maybe Jordan."

"The next number is one," Brian said as he wrote Justin's choices down.

"List number one has Jason, Elliot, Audrey, Grace, Jean, James, Michael, Matilda, Daniel, Matthew, Benjamin, Elizabeth, Hannah and Sarah," Justin said and then smirked at Brian's disgusted moue when he looked up. "Based on your expression, I'm going to say that would be a big fat no for all of them."

"Yes, a big fat no is a definite," Brian grimaced, scrubbing his hand over his face. "Fucking Deb; she's always trying to push that name onto people."

"Correct," Justin nodded, adding a slash to the correct column since the list was indeed from Deb and Carl; but they both know that it was only Deb behind that one based on the names. "And you have three correct so far; next number?"

"Seven," Brian said, looking down at his sheet of paper.

"List seven is one of the shorter ones," Justin said, shuffling the papers until he found it. "It has Shelby, Shane or Shanna, Finley and…London?"

Brian snorted, and the outright laughed as he shook his head. "That bitch – Cynthia. That is so Cynthia."

"Right again," Justin nodded, adding another slash to the growing number of slashes in the correct column. "How did you…?"

"Know?" Brian asked with a smirk; he held up a hand and ticked the reasons off on it. "One, she's always said that she liked the name Shelby for a boy or a girl. And two, I told her one day that we thought you got pregnant on out trip to…"

"London," Justin said with dawning comprehension; he scrunched his nose and shook his head. "Evil. Any you want to keep?"

"I'm keeping Shelby, just to piss her off," Brian snorted, adding the name to their list. "And Finley isn't bad either. You?" Justin shook his head in negation. "Two."

"I'm surprised that you're able to keep track of the numbers," Justin commented absently, shuffling the papers again.

"Easy," Brian said with a shrug. "I did all the odd numbers first; that leaves only the even numbers."

"Sneaky," Justin said, and then snorted at the list, just knowing Brian was going to hate it. "So, list two has Boyd, Cedar, Basil, Sedona, Jude, Emily, Chad, Peregrine, Clark, Juniper, Forest, Winter, Reese, Sage and Rowan.

'What the actual fuck?" Brian asked, shooting dubious look Justin's way; yup, he knew Brian would hat it. "Are we naming a child or planting a garden? Fucking Emmett."

"Yeah that was an easy guess," Justin said, shaking his head; he added a slash and then set the list aside. "So, no one the names I'm guessing?"

"Well," Brian hedged, grimacing as he admitted. "Rowan and Jude aren't too horrible; I guess. I'll just throw them on for now. And let's just go down the line now – four."

And that sounded fair to Justin; he reorganized the papers and then read four out loud. "List four is Belinda, Sasha, Sophia, Susan, Jacob, Jayson, Joshua, Blake, Spencer, Alexis, Chloe and Andrew."

"Ted," Brian said without hesitation; and Justin smirked. "I can't believe they just recycled their name list and added Blake to it. And if it wasn't obvious, nothing from that list; well, maybe Sasha and Alexis. I'll put those down for maybe."

"Correct," Justin said putting the list aside; there was nothing he wanted to add to the list. "List six is also a short one – Jenna, Regina, Dahlia, Reuben and Dorian."

"Um…" Brian hummed, wracking his brain for an answer but shrugged when nothing came to mind. "I actually have no idea."

"That's Yasmeen," Justin said, smirking because he knew for a fact that Yasmeen had a cousin named Jenna, and he'd mentioned liking the name. "I kind of like Jenna."

"Dorian is good too," Brian said, writing both names down.

"And the final list," Justin said, setting the other list aside. "Well, other than Gus and Jenny that is; the final list is Darcy, Hunter, Adrian or Adrianna, Micah, Jesse, Skyler or Skylar, Hayley, Robin, Moriah, Haiden, Kiley, Jules and Wren."

"That's so Hunter," Brian snorted. "Honestly, what is with people trying to name our kid after themselves, their kid or their spouse? As if I would ever do that."

"Seriously," Justin agreed setting the list aside as he marked another slash on the paper. " Add Darcy and Skyler/Skylar to the list, please." Brian rolled his eyes, but wrote them down. "Okay, so you got seven out of nine; not too bad."

"Yes!" Brian quipped, thrusting a fist into the air. "I'm so going to enjoy this."

"Perv," Justin teased, tossing the lists into the recycle basket.

"And?" Brian asked, arching a brow. "Please, Sunshine, you like me this way."

"Well, since it usually benefits me as well," Justin quipped, smirking when Brian shot him a heated look. "I can't complain. Shall we get to the kids?"

"Absolutely," Brian agreed, his eyes still traveling slowly over Justin's body, making him squirm. "What does Miss Jenny have to say?"

"Jenny suggested Erin or Aaron – the masculine and feminine versions listed – Mia, Devan or Devon – different spellings – Ashley, Rory, Lyric, Bellamy, Tasha, Natasha, Natalie and Alana," Justin said as he handed the paper off to Brian.

"Lyric and Bellamy?" Brian asked, casting a skeptical look at the paper; and Justin couldn't help but laugh at his pained expression.

"I don't know about Lyric," Justin said, scratching the back of his head in confusion. "But I'm pretty sure that Bellamy is a character on a show that she watches; which means it is automatically cut from the list."

"Ah, but Sunshine," Brian teased, dodging when Justin threw his pen at him. "You wouldn't do that to the poor kid, would you?"

"Yes, I would," Justin huffed. "I made it very clear that I didn't want pop culture names listed; and Jenny knows it. I'm sure she figured that I wouldn't recognize it; and I likely wouldn't have if she hadn't been gushing about the character to a friend last week. I do like Ashley though, for a male or a female; and Alana is pretty."

Brian nodded, adding the names to their list; and then he tapped his pen against his lips and added two more. "I'm adding Erin/Aaron and Devan/Devon as well. I like those names and again, they are gender neutral. What about Sonny Boy?"

"Gus suggested the names Reagan, Logan, Riley, Morgan, Avery, Ceegan, Davan or Davon – which are yet more versions of the names that Jenny suggested – and Elian," Justin said, once again handing the list off to Brian.

"Not bad, Sonny Boy," Brian hummed, looking over the list of names with a small smile. "At least he didn't suggest any names like Winter or Cedar or Oregano or Marigold or Tulip or whatever the fuck Emmett listed."

"Brian," Justin huffed and rolled his eyes, wincing as his back twinged; he leaned back into the couch and massaged the pain away. "Emmett wasn't that bad."

"Close enough," Brian muttered, but he had a worried frown on his face as he stared at Justin; but Justin just waved him off. This was just a normal end of the day ache. Brian huffed, but turned back to the list in his hand. "I like Reagan and Morgan, and I think Avery was already on our list."

"It is," Justin nodded, shoving a pillow behind his back and sighing as it eased the pressure. "I also like Riley and Elian."

"So, are we done?" Brian asked as he jotted the last two names down; he looked it over and then laid it in his briefcase so it wouldn't get lost.

"Yes, your Surliness," Justin snickered. "Those were the only ones I had for you."

"Nothing from Mikey then?" Brian asked carefully; Justin frowned, not knowing how to answer this question. Brian didn't seem to care about it one way or the other, but he had always been adept at hiding his feeling. Chewing on his lower lip, which just made Brian arch a brow and prod again. "Justin?"

"There was, but I didn't even bother printing it out," Justin reluctantly admitted; he carefully studied his nails in an effort to avoid Brian's searching gaze. And then he huffed because he knew that Brian wouldn't let it go until he told him. "It was full of comic book hero names and no Brian; just no."

Brian just snickered and looked relieved; and then Justin felt bad for holding back, because Brian had obviously been worried that Michael had said something harsh to him rather than Justin deleting the list because there was no way in hell he was going to name their child after a Marvel or DC Comics character.

"Don't blame you," Brian said, still sniggering. "I was just curious as I know he would usually jump on something like this; I'm guessing you got rid of Lindsay's as well?"

"I didn't even open it," Justin admitted with a shrug. "Just hit delete and blocked her."

"Yeah," Brian said, a dark shadow flitting across his face. "I had to do that too for my work address; I saved all the emails in case we need them, but otherwise, she is blocked from using that address. I'm leaving my personal one open to gather additional stuff on her, as this can be seen as harassment. I forward everything to Thomas; he's logging it all for when we sue to end her rights."

"Makes sense," Justin said, rolling his lips under. He really didn't know what to say that would help his husband in this matter. It was still a sore topic despite the fact that they had pretty much worked things out. And it would likely remain a sore topic for months, if not years to come because this had forever changed his friend in his eyes.

"So, Sunshine," Brian purred, obviously ready to shelve the topic; he turned around and slid between Justin's parted thighs, leaning in until their mouths were mere inches apart. "That means you owe me one through seven on that list."

"So, it seems," Justin smirked; he dropped his gaze to his husband's mouth for a moment, groaning when Brian licked his lips slowly. And then he flicked them back up and met smoky hazel. "What of it?"

"What time are Blake and Ted picking up Luc?" Brian asked, a sly smile sliding over his lips; Justin sighed and then squirmed as Brian slid his hands up over his thighs.

"They'll be here around seven," Justin said a touch breathlessly; he licked his suddenly parched lips and groaned as fingers ghosted across his cock. "Why do you ask?"

"Good," Brian said, pulling back as quickly as he had come; fucking tease. "Because once Luc is gone, I definitely plan to cash in on number two."


	97. March 29 (Part Two)

****

**March 29 (Part Two)**

 

Blaine sat back in the uncomfortable plastic chair, stiff as a rod, and his eyes down cast as the detective sitting in front of him made some notations in the file in front of him. He knew that he needed to do this; but that didn’t make him any less unhappy to be here. And if it wasn’t for Addison, he would have cut his losses, skipped town and been on his merry way after dropping off all the information he’d accumulated on Wolf.

 

And he honestly didn’t care what kind of person that made him; he’d long since given up on the hope of ever finding a moral higher ground to his actions for the past eleven years. His life hadn’t allowed it. And he had done many things that he should be ashamed of in order to protect Addy; but he wasn’t ashamed.

 

And if he had to, he’d do it all again; anything, even facing the years in prison, was worth keeping Addison out of the hands of that pervert.

 

Sighing internally, he averted his eyes, knowing that the detective was trying to sweat him out; but there was nothing he was holding back this time. Well, with the exception of Addison’s location; and that he’d never divulge under any circumstances. He didn’t care what pretty the words this detective might feed him, or the promises he’d try to make about ensuring Addy’s safety. He might even been telling the truth as her knew it.

 

But he knew Preston; and he was well aware of his long reach. He’d experienced it before when he’d tried to escape the first time with Addy, and he wouldn’t make the same mistakes twice. He’d trusted the police then; that particular detective seemed honest and forthright, and had made all the right noises of distress too. Only to stab Blaine in the back at the last minute and hand him and his sister over to Preston.

 

He’d never make that mistake again; you never knew who were in his uncle’s pockets; and he didn’t think they would have survived his tender, loving care this time. Not if it meant that all that glorious money that he so coveted was forever out of reach.

 

Running a hand through his hair, he thought back to three days prior, his heart aching as he thought about Addy and pushing her away for her own good. Oh, he hadn’t been cruel, or kicked her out of the house or anything like that; but he’d definitely cut her loose as she needed to be. Because he knew with this latest foible on his part, they’d be searching for him all that harder and she didn’t need to be anywhere near him when they eventually caught up with him.

 

And he knew they would eventually; Pittsburgh was a small town sometimes, and eventually one of his neighbors or his ‘clients’ would rat him out. Better to do this on his own terms, securing Addison’s future in the process, than to have them show up on his doorstep and haul him in with no care of who they contacted to care for Addison.

 

At least this way, she and Mary were safe; even if Addy would never forgive him for doing this. It was a price he was willing to pay.

 

 

_“Why are you doing this?” Addy asked, her eyes filled with tears as she stared at a stoic Blaine. God, it hurt him to see her like this; especially as she was almost more of a daughter to him than a sibling. He had been taking care of her so long now…_

_“You know why,”_ _Blaine_ _said, trying to keep his voice as unemotional as possible; giving into the anger, sorrow and pain raging through him would do no good. He was in this predicament once again because he’d trusted the wrong person. But unlike his uncle, who had a reputation to worry about if everything came out, Brian Kinney would stop at nothing to destroy the men responsible for hurting his Sunshine._

_God, how he wished that he’d paid more attention to Liberty Avenue and the gossip around there before getting involved with Wolf. But he only went into that area when he hustled for a little extra cash; and thus, he’d never heard the full-blown Brian and Justin saga until it was much, much too late to get out of the bed he’d made._

_Not that it absolved him any of his crimes; but had he known, he might have question Wolf a little more closely and realized the guy was fucking out of his mind._

_“Blaine,” Addy choked, her hands fisted at her sides as she watched him packing all of her things into bags; he knew she’d stubbornly refuse to do it herself in some misguided belief that he’d cave. That wouldn’t happen. When he walked into the precinct to give himself up to the police, he wanted her as far away from_ _Pittsburgh_ _as possible._

_“I need to do this, Addy,”_ _Blaine_ _stated, again remaining stoic in the wake of her temper tantrum. He didn’t care how much she begged and pleaded; he was sending her away fro her own good. He hadn’t been on the run, protecting her from his asshole uncle all these years, only to have her fall right into his hands because he’d fucked up royally. “And in order to do this; I need to know you’ll be safe.”_

_“I don’t want to live there by myself,” Addy huffed, getting angry with his lack of response; but then, he’d expected that as well. She was so used to getting her way that it had to piss her off that he was ignoring her now. “Why can’t you come with me?”_

_“Because I did something stupid,”_ _Blaine_ _sighed, scrubbing a hand over his face; he was beyond exhausted. And then he continued folding her clothes, slowly adding them to the cases on the bed. “And it is beyond time for me to make things right; and I can’t do that until I know that you’re safe.”_

_“We can both leave,” Addy pleaded, rounding the bed so she could look him in the face; but Blaine held firm and continued his packing, making her stomp her foot in frustration. Why had he thought raising a teenager would be easier than a small child?  “No one has to know that you were involved.”_

_Blaine_ _huffed a bitter laugh; if only. But he knew as soon as he’d opened his mouth and given the police what little information he’d been willing to divulge, his time was numbered. He should have never told them about him and Brian. But he hadn’t actually thought that Brian would remember his name; after all, he was only the hustler that he’d hired in order to pretend he still had his Sunshine._

_And really, that he had been willing to pay for the fantasy should have told him everything that_ _Blaine_ _needed about how much_ _Taylor_ _meant to the man. That he had even briefly thought that there was something… Well, there had been something; sadly, it hadn’t been for him, but for who he represented in that moment of time._

_“They’ve already figured out that I’m involved, Addy,”_ _Blaine_ _said, slumping and burying his face into his hands; how could he have let this happen? He was usually so careful. “Brian saw me on the street and tried to chase me down. They know of my involvement. I can’t in good conscience leave them to deal with the mess I helped to create.”_

_“You couldn’t know that he was a psychopath,” Addy huffed, crossing her arms over her chest and flopping into an armchair like the petulant teenager that she was; and God, sometimes he just wanted to throttle the little brat._

_Didn’t she think that he’d already considered all of these things? Had he done this before the art show, he might have gotten away with it. At that point, all they were interested in was his potential involvement with Wolf. The moment he had caved to Wolf’s demands to drug Brian however, and it didn’t matter that he did it out of fear for Addy, it had been game over for him. He was in this neck deep; and there was no way they were going to ignore his part in the plan. That meant Addy needed to leave now._

_“But I did know there was something off in the way he talked about_ _Taylor_ _,”_ _Blaine_ _continued, mostly talking to himself since his bratty younger sister was pouting at the unfairness of her life. If only she knew. “It always made me uneasy when he would pretend that I was him. The light in his eyes as he watched me, touched me, saying his name…it was fanatical, obsessive.”_

_Blaine closed one of the bags and set it aside, working on the next to keep his hands busy. He shuddered as Wolf’s voice whispered in his mind, speaking of_ _Taylor_ _as if he were some fallen angel or other divine being meant to be worshiped. An object to be held on a pedestal and admired, instead of a flesh and blood man. That he hadn’t noticed Wolf’s crazy had been on him and if turning himself in meant that they found this guy before he could enact his crazy plan, then he owed that to them._

_“When he first brought_ _Taylor_ _up,”_ _Blaine_ _said to the room in general, but he could tell that Addy was listening, even if she was pretending not to in an effort to make him react. “I thought he was just upset that his past little romance didn’t work out because his daddy disapproved. That_ _Taylor_ _was dating them both at one time, and when Wolf disappeared from his life, he focused on Brian.”_

_Blaine chewed on his lower lip and sat back on his heels, a pensive frown on his face. His sister uncurled her sullen posture and turned to him with worried eyes. He met her anxious gaze with one of his own, for once letting her see how scared he was._

_“But now, I think it’s all in his head,” he whispered, finally putting the feelings he’d been having for the past month into words. “Because from what I’ve heard about the Taylor-Kinney love story, there is no mention of Wolf whatsoever. The only one mentioned is some Ethan guy, who is now a famous violinist. And even that is only mentioned as a footnote, a small misstep between the two of them.”_

_Addy clambered out of her chair and sank down beside him; she wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face into his shoulder._ _Blaine_ _stroked his fingers through her long, golden hair and sighed, knowing that moments like this would be over as soon as he sent her away tomorrow evening. He was so going to miss her as for eleven years, she’d been his life, the only thing that he’d been living for._

_“When I first agreed to this,”_ _Blaine_ _said, making himself busy by folding clothes again; he didn’t want to dwell on tomorrow. “I didn’t know that_ _Taylor_ _was pregnant. I never would have agreed to it if I’d known that. But by the time I was aware of that fact, it was too late. This last bit was the last straw for me. Seeing him try to drug them both…if_ _Taylor_ _had drank that juice, he could have lost or harmed the baby. And that was my breaking point. I never agreed to that, but I’m in too deep now, Addy.”_

_Addy made a small soothing noise in the back of her throat and then laid her head in his lap and he shifted his weight, sitting on his ass and crossing his legs to get more comfortable. He did stop packing for the moment to focus on the girl who would soon be leaving for her own safely. He just didn’t trust the police not to contact_ _Preston_ _._

_“He’s losing it,”_ _Blaine_ _said, a morose note creeping into his voice; he hated feeling helpless. When he’d graduated high school early, this wasn’t the way he’d envisioned his life going – orphaned at the age of seventeen, on the run and caring for his six-year-old sister in an effort to protect her from his pedophile uncle._

_What had his parents been thinking by making that man their guardian? He could only hope that they hadn’t known or heard about his inclinations._

_“Even more than before,”_ _Blaine_ _said, and then he paused as he tried to explain why he was so uneasy with Wolf’s attitude of late. “It’s like he doesn’t even realize that he knows me some days. I proved that last month when we were sitting in that hotel room he likes to go to. It was weird; it was like he wasn’t even seeing me. I even asked him questions he should have known that I already had the answers to. But he looked straight through me. I was faceless to him unless he was pretending I was Justin.”_

_“That’s sick,” Addy huffed, shuddering at his words._

_“It was money,”_ _Blaine_ _brusquely stated, bristling a little at her words as he knew that she hated the fact that he had to sell himself to make ends meet sometimes. “Don’t give me that look; I didn’t like it anymore than you do, but I had no choice. You know why I can’t get a real job. Preston has friends everywhere; had I used my trust or even tried to find honest work, he would have tracked us down and then where would we be?”_

_Addy looked away, shamefaced. Blaine sighed and ran his hand over her head; he knew that she didn’t mean anything by her words, but it was still a sore topic. He really had never seen his life panning out this way when he was younger. But there was little that he could do in his eyes. He had been young, under educated, with no work experience and on the run from a sadistic guardian who wouldn’t have thought twice of violating his own kin, while bleeding their trust funds dry. He did what he’d had to._

_“I’ll tell you where we would be,”_ _Blaine_ _said, working on the pile of clothing with renewed resolve. “Right back under his abusive, spendthrift thumb, with him steadily working his way through our inheritance until we were left in the poor house. At least this way, our trusts are safe. Once you hit eighteen, it will no longer matter that he finds us. You can take control of your trust and set it up so that he can’t gain access to it.”_

_“But you gave a fake social security number for the party planner; so why couldn’t you do it before?” Addy argued; she still didn’t seem to understand that by doing that, he was in serious trouble. That he committed fraud when he’d done that. Then again, how could she, when it hadn’t even really connected in his head and he was fucking adult._

_“And that was risky enough,” Blaine huffed, angry with himself that he’d risked so much, when they were so close to being free, for nothing. “Do you have any idea how much trouble I am going to be in with that alone? The only reason it even worked is I was hired on as a part-time independent contractor. He didn’t have to report my income because I was, in essence, my own boss and thus in charge of reporting it myself. Luckily, I never made that much money doing those gigs. I never should have let Wolf talk me into it.”_

_“But…” Addy protested, but_ _Blaine_ _cut her off with a wave of his hand. It didn’t matter in the end; no matter his intentions, he had committed a crime – several crimes – and it was time for him to face up to them before he dug himself in deeper._

_“But nothing, Addy,”_ _Blaine_ _said, gently pushing her off of his lap so that he could stand and finish up his packing. There was so much to see to before he sent her on her way and he didn’t have time to dawdle. “This is the way it’s going to be.”_

_“What if Uncle Preston finds me before July…?” Addy whispered, her eyes downcast as she wrung her hands. “I can’t live with him, Blaine. You know what he’s like; I know you heard the rumors. Hell, I heard the rumors and I was only six or seven at the time.”_

_“He won’t find you,”_ _Blaine_ _stated firmly; and he believed that with his whole heart. He had to, or going insane with worry. Addy scoffed. “He **won’t**. The house is in Mom’s godmother’s name. She never changed the deed when she inherited. _ _Preston_ _knows nothing about it as it was something mom kept a secret. It was her sanctuary. Not even Dad knew about it. As long as you stay there, and don’t make any waves, you’ll be fine. Before I turn myself in, I’m going to withdraw a large portion of money out of my trust, and add that to the money we already have; I’ll give it to Mary, who will be living with you, and it will get you by until you are an adult and have access to your own accounts.”_

_“I just don’t understand why we can’t just tell someone…” Addy huffed, back to being a petulant teenager. God spare him from fucking teenage drama._  
  


_“Addison,” Blain cut in, shooting a warning look her way; he got that she was upset about leaving , but enough was enough. “I know you don’t view it this way, but in the eyes of the law, I essentially kidnapped you. I was only seventeen when we left; which means that technically,_ _Preston_ _was our guardian. And he still **is** your guardian. The only reason your name isn’t on every milk carton or missing website or what not is because he doesn’t want anyone looking at things too closely; **and** Mom’s lawyer has been keeping him in check by keeping our trusts frozen.”_

_“How do you know that,” Addy asked, casting a suspicious look at_ _Blaine_ _. He rolled his eyes and pressed his fingers against his temple, trying to stave off the headache that was building up there._

_“I keep touch with him on a monthly basis through burner phones,”_ _Blaine_ _sighed; cringing when Addy gasped. Yes, it had been a risk. But he had been very careful, buying prepaid phones from other areas of the country and never using the same numbers two times in a row. “He’s helped me get some money from my accounts on occasion without Preston knowing too much. How do you think we’ve survived all these years? Hustling certainly wouldn’t keep us in the life we know right now. I only did that when an unexpected expense cropped up.”_

_“Are you sure…?” Addy asked a little fearfully, her eyes wide with panic._ _Blaine_ _grabbed her and wrapped her in his arms. Sometimes he forgot just how young she really was._

_“_ _Addison_ _,”_ _Blaine_ _soothed, pulling back to look her in the eyes. “Do you not think that if Charlie were on his side that he wouldn’t have hauled us back by now? All he had to do was have someone waiting at the drop off points for the money and he could have had both of us in a heartbeat. He was loyal only to Mom. In truth, I think he was a little in love with her. That’s neither here nor there; as I said before, this is a done deal.”_

_“Why don’t you just have Charlie get the money,” Addy asked; and God, that headache was now full bloom and pounding away._ _Blaine_ _swore that his sister was worse than a toddler when it came to asking endless questions. “Why risk…?”_

_“Because I want_ _Preston_ _focused on_ _Pittsburgh_ _,”_ _Blaine_ _huffed, closing another suitcase and setting it side; and then he frowned. It was sad that he could pack up his and Addy’s life in nothing but a few bags. “And by the time he realizes that you’re no longer here, it will hopefully mean your trail is cold and he won’t find you until it’s too late.”_

_“There are cameras everywhere,_ _Blaine_ _,” Addy pointed out, still obviously trying to talk him out of his decision; but it had to be this way. They were looking for him, and he didn’t think for one moment that he could outrun Brian Kinney’s reach. And if they found him, they found Addy and that…that he couldn’t allow._

_“Which is why we’re going to dye your hair,”_ _Blaine_ _said, walking over to the dresser in their small shared bedroom. Addy opened her mouth the protest, but_ _Blaine_ _cut it off with a wave of his hand. “Don’t argue with me; you can change it back once you get where you are going. And you will wear the contacts and glasses and your ‘travel’ clothing. It’s not much of a disguise, but if they are looking for a slim, blue-eyed blonde, it’s less likely they’ll remember a plump, brown-eyed brunette with glasses.”_

_“You could do this too,” Addy said quietly, her eyes once again filled with tears. It broke_ _Blaine_ _’s heart to see her this way, but again –he had made his bed, and now he had to lie in it. “We could go together…’_

_“Addy,”_ _Blaine_ _said tiredly, sick of the circuitous argument they were having. “I can’t. They are looking for me. And with them looking for me, that puts you in danger. I can accept the responsibility of my actions; and I do that gladly. I **cannot** allow you to be harmed by them. It was my own fault. We are so close to your coming of age that I grew lax and trusted the wrong person. And I am not blameless by any means. Hopefully with them focused on me, you can get away freely as you did nothing wrong. And I will happily sit in prison for the rest of my life in order to keep you safe.”_

_Addy turned her back, her shoulders shaking with silent sobs;_ _Blaine_ _swallowed thickly and blinked back his own tears. They wouldn’t do any good anyways; they never had. Walking over to his sister, he pulled her into a hug and let her cry on his shoulder for the last time. He ran his hands through her hair and pressed a kiss to her brow._

_“You will leave tomorrow,”_ _Blaine_ _said quietly as he stared unseeingly over her head. “Better to do it on a weekday; you and Mary will leave in the evening. I’ll meet you at the bank and withdraw the necessary money. And you will leave **immediately** there after. Hopefully doing this at the day’s end will slow things down on _ _Preston_ _’s end; and Charlie has already set this up so that there won’t be any questions when I do it. And you **will** take the money and leave Addy. Promise me.”_

_“But_ _Blaine_ _…” Addy protested, only to be silenced by a sad shake of his head._

_“I wantt a fully Aldrich promise,” Blaine demanded, squeezing her close to him, his heart hurting and throat constricting at the knowledge that it could be the last time he did so for a long, long time. “You will do this; swear it on our mother’s grave.”_

_“I promise,” Addy said softly, her shoulders slumping in defeat. “I promise on Mama’s  and Papa’s and Nanna’s and any grave you want me to swear it on. I will leave tomorrow with Mary. BUT…when I am eighteen, I will be back and you can’t stop me then Blaine. And I will do something about this.”_

_“So stubborn; you will be the death of me,”_ _Blaine_ _huffed, but knew that was the best he was going to get out of his hardheaded sibling. “Now let’s go get your hair done; we have an appointment in an hour. And the after that we’ll pick up the colored contacts that I ordered, along with the non-prescription glasses.”_

_“How long have you been planning this?” Addy asked, her eyes narrowing with suspicion._ _Blaine_ _cast a sad smile over his shoulder._

_“Since the day after Wolf came over in a rage because things hadn’t panned out the way he’d hoped at the showing. I wish I could say it was just after he told me he expected me to drug Brian; but I was still trying to placate him because I wanted you safe. That night, when he’d stormed over here after the showing, I knew that I was just fooling myself and that the only way to keep you safe was to send you away.”_

 

 

 

“That’s quite a story, Mr. Aldrich,” Detective Nakumara said, shaking Blaine out of his dismal thoughts.

 

The detectives face was a blank mask as he stared over his file at Blaine, but he caught the doubtful tone. Not that Blaine cared. He wasn’t trying to convince anyone of anything anymore, and was ready to face whatever punishment that came his way. The detective cocked his head, and flashed him a sympathetic smile, but Blaine didn’t trust it for one moment. He’d done that before and been betrayed. Once burned, twice shy.

 

“Where is your sister, if that’s even true?” Detective Nakumara asked stoically, one eyebrow arched as he tapped his pen against the tabletop. Blaine snorted; as if he was going to answer that question. He had worked to hard to get Addy out of harm’s way. He wasn’t going to let this man drag her back. “I may need her to verify this story of yours.”

 

“Safe,” Blaine said with a thin smile. “And that’s all I’m telling you.”

 

The detective sighed and scrubbed his hand over the back of his head; but he didn’t look disappointed in his answer, likely having anticipated it. The man studied at him, a shrewd gleam in his eyes as he sat back in his chair.

 

“You do realize that this is all a bit hard to swallow,” Detective Nakumara said, a small, skeptical smile on his face. “Not to mention that you’ve lied to me before when you first called the information in; it doesn’t exactly make me trusting of your words or actions.”

 

And yes, Blaine got that; he knew coming in that the police weren’t likely to believe his tale, even if it was the complete and honest truth. There was nothing he could do about that at the end of the day. It would be his word against Wolf’s. But he didn’t care anymore; he was tired of lying, tired of running and at least by giving himself up, they might just find this guy before anything happened to Taylor and his baby.

 

“I don’t really care if you believe me or not,” Blaine shrugged. “Nor do I care if you trust me. The only person I care about in this world is safely gone from the state, and has been for three days. She is likely already at her destination by now.”

 

“You do know that with your true name,” Detective Nakumara said, obviously trying to use this ploy to make Blaine crack. “We can track her down all that much easier.”

 

“No you can’t,” Blaine huffed, a small amused smile on his face. “She’s not in the system anywhere; she was informally home-schooled, she has no ID or Driver’s License. The place she is residing isn’t connected to us in any way. And she has enough money to see her through the next several months until she turns eighteen. And then, it won’t matter because Preston can’t touch her.”

 

Detective Nakumara hummed, but otherwise remained silent; and Blaine thought that he could see a hint of admiration buried underneath disbelief and exasperation there. He wished he could feel good about that, but he was just done and had nothing more to say.

 

“Besides she didn’t do anything wrong,” Blaine pointed out. “I made sure to keep this all away from her. She knew nothing about it until Wolf showed up in a rage the night of the showing. She can’t help you. And I will rot in prison before I allow that asshole to get his hands on her. He’s been known to have lots of young visitors at his house, if you know what I mean; and I doubt the familial bond will stop him any. It certainly didn’t when he tried his shit on me. So, do your worst; I have told you all I plan on telling you. Now, I’d like to speak with my lawyer; his name is Charles Hollenbeck. This is his card.”


	98. March 30

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This one is a bit smaller than they have been lately; mostly due to the fact that I had a second section planned, but cut for the next one as this seemed to come to an organic ending. Also, sorry for the lateness of this post; I had another idea come to me yesterday and needed to write it down in my potential story ideas before I lost it, and it wouldn't leave me alone until I did. The muse is a tenacious bitch.

**March 30**

 

Brian pulled up to Blake and Ted's house and sat in his car for a few minutes getting his thoughts together. Due to everything that had been happening with Justin, and them fighting and trying to work everything out, he still hadn't had a chance to address something that had become apparent while they'd been watching the live feed of Justin and Lindsay's showdown. He was pretty sure that Ted had been in the know before the confrontation.

 

And while he might have forgotten that initial thought in the events that had followed, he went back and re-watched the confrontation. Not because he had footage of Ted's reaction, or lack there of; but because something had clicked when he'd played back Justin's words in his head later that evening. He'd vaguely recalled that Justin _and a friend_ had overheard the conversation between Simon and his friends; and Brian would stake everything he owned on the probability that friend had been Blake.

 

A hunch that he'd mostly confirmed on his own when he went through his and Justin's past travel expense reports for Kinnetik and Taylor Made Art. He'd found the paperwork for a trip that Justin had taken during that time frame. And according to the report, Justin had been in New York to finalize plans for a show and to meet with a couple of gallery owners for two other potential shows. _And_ if Brian recalled correctly, Justin had purposely gone on that particular weekend because Blake had a conference to attend and they were planning to make it a ' _boy's weekend_.'

 

Plus, his gut instinct was never wrong; it had to be Blake. It was the only thing that made sense.

 

Sighing, Brian ran a hand through his hair and climbed out of the car; he opened the back hatch and pulled out several bags – his main excuse for being there; because no way in hell was he allowing his nephew to be dressed in those God awful rags his parents had sent with him. Closing the hatch, he walked up to the door and knocked, and then leaned against the wall as a voice called from within.

 

Brian turned towards the door as it opened and arched a brow at a smiling Ted; and he was both annoyed and glad when Ted took one look at his face and sighed, his smile sliding away as he ushered Brian in without a word. Glad because he was still fucked off that neither Ted nor Blake had told him something important about his husband; but annoyed because Ted was able to read him that easily.

 

He remembered a time when no one had ever been able to see beyond his masks; he had been a blank slate to them. And then a stubborn, blond brat had entered his life one day and all of his rules and masks had been shattered to pieces. The annoying twat; it was good thing that he loved him.

 

Brian stepped into the living room and set his purchases down as he watched Ted and Blake hold one of those silent conversations that he and Justin were prone to doing. The kind where you don't need to exchange words because you know exactly what the other person is thinking. Blake sighed and nodded; he got up, scooped a sleeping Luc out of his rocker and then walked down the hall towards their bedroom.

 

And he wasn't sure if he was happy or annoyed by that gesture; it wasn't like he was planning to scream at the two of them. Yet, at the same time, he did want to discuss this with Ted first as he'd always considered Ted _his_ friend, while Blake was Justin's friend. It was irrational, and not at all true, but he couldn't help it if that was the way his mind had divided them up and that he was feeling a bit betrayed that Ted had remained silent.

 

Sitting down in a chair, Brian studied his friend, trying to figure out what to say; or even, what he wanted to know about Ted's involvement. He knew that he should have come up with a better game plan, but once he had watched the confrontation this morning, he'd just reacted and drove into Pittsburgh without a second thought. He just needed to know what Ted and Blake had been thinking when they'd kept this from everyone.

 

It turned out that Brian hadn't needed a plan, however; as Ted started talking without prompting as soon as he took a seat across from him.

 

"You can be mad all you want at me, Brian," Ted said levelly, meeting his gaze head on without so much as flinching. "I won't complain or try and talk my way out of it. But you need to remember this – Justin is my friend too."

 

Brian grimaced as, again, that irrational voice in his head protested, stubbornly insisting that Ted had been his friend first and therefore his loyalty should have been to him first. It was stupid and pointless as he was very well aware of how close Ted and Justin had grown through working, first through Kinnetik as a contractor, and then as the CFO of Taylor Made Art. And he didn't say a word because he knew that it was an irrational feeling on his part.

 

"And while Blake and I both tried to talk him out of keeping it from you," Ted continued, an unhappy frown on his face. "At the end of the day, we kept his confidence because he asked it of us. If I hadn't, Justin and Blake would have clammed up and went off on their own because they felt they couldn't trust me to have their backs. And there was no way in hell I was going to let those troublemakers go off half-cocked on their own."

 

A faint smile pulled at Brian's lips, because he could very well see that; and a part of him did understand and appreciate the bad position his friend had been placed in. Justin and Blake were notoriously stubborn and the thought of them trying to take Simon and his ilk on had his stomach tying itself in knots. Being cognizant of that fact didn't soothe his feelings of betrayal however.

 

"Just as I held your confidence when you were going through the radiation treatments," Ted said with a shrug. "And then again when you had that cancer scare just before Justin's first solo show in New York. And I don't need to point out how long you kept that from him."

 

Brian scowled and looked away when Ted reminded him of that time in his life; that had been another spectacular blow out on their parts. Especially as Ted was giving him far too much credit – he'd never actually _told_ Justin anything. The reason Justin had found out was that he'd found the biopsy results one day when he was going through some of their papers. That had been a bitch and a half of an argument, leading to Brian spending several nights in the guest room until Justin's wrath had finally cooled.

 

"I didn't want him freaking out when he was working on the show," Brian muttered, but he knew that it was a weak excuse at best; something proven when Justin had handed him his ass all those years ago. "I wanted to wait to tell him after everything had been confirmed one way or the other. And then when the biopsy came back negative, I didn't see any point in bringing back bad memories and leaving him paranoid and worrying about me, potentially bringing him home sooner than he was ready."

 

Ted just looked at him and Brian scowled again because, yes, he was a big, fat, fucking hypocrite. He admitted it. And he wished that he could now point out that he had learned his lesson from those past mistakes; but he knew himself well. If it was ever a choice between protecting Justin and getting his own needs met, he would always, _always_ , choose Justin.

 

"The point is, Brian," Ted huffed, rolling his eyes when Brian frowned at him. "You didn't tell him about something pretty fucking major in your life because you were protecting him. What he was doing was no different."

 

"I know that, Theodore," Brian huffed, getting out of his chair to pace; because it was true. He did realize that it was the same exact thing; but, much like Justin had been, he couldn't help being pissed off by it. "Which is why after hashing it out with him, I let it go. Am I still hurt and upset that he didn't come to me? Yes. Of course, I am. But I'll eventually get over it, just like I've gotten over so many things in our lives."

 

"Then why are you here?" Ted asked pointedly; and that was the crux of it, wasn't it? Why _was_ Brian there if he'd already made his peace with Justin?

 

Brian scrubbed a hand over the back of his head and made a frustrated noise in the back of his throat. He hated this! He hated feeling helpless. He hated that he had not been able to help his husband through something that they should have faced together. And that was his biggest sticking point. It again, fell down to the trust factor and the lingering echoes of distrust that Justin felt to this day about Brian having his back.

 

And he got that; in the past he had done his best to have Justin's back on the major events, but there were a lot of little things that slid through the cracks; not to mention that there were times that he'd tried to be there for Justin, but suffering from his own trauma, he'd handled everything wrong.

 

Like the bashing and his refusal to talk about it; and worse, coaching Justin to let it go and move on with his life, when he hadn't done the same. It had led to the Pink Posse mess because Justin had had so much anger bottled up inside at the injustice of it all that when he'd _finally_ had an outlet; he almost turned into someone unrecognizable.

 

Blowing out a harsh breath, Brian didn't know why he was here or what he wanted to get out of this visit. It had been pure impulse on his part to come here in the first place. But he figured that while he _was_ there, he might as well get some answers.

 

"I don't know," Brian huffed as he flopped back down in the chair across from Ted. "I understand why you and Blake kept it secret. That doesn't mean that I'm not fucking angry and hurt that you guys didn't come to me and let me know that this asshole was a potential threat to my husband. I can't help that."

 

Ted sighed and tipped his head back to stare at the ceiling; Brian watched him, still feeling a lingering hurt and frustration that he knew he needed to make peace with before it festered and came back to haunt them all, but he wasn't quite sure how to do it. Ted sighed again and looked back at Brian.

 

"You know; I wasn't even supposed to know about it," Ted said with a mirthless smile; Brian arched a brow, indicating that Ted should go on. "Blake and Justin had made a pact in New York to keep it from everyone while they figured out what to do. I only found out because Blake came home from that trip in a rage; and knowing something was wrong, I decided to take the next day off to see if he'd talk to me about it. I ended up overhearing him ranting to Justin on the phone because he thought I was gone for the day."

 

Well, that was interesting news indeed; and much to his irritation, he could see the two stubborn brats doing just that. Justin and Blake had always been thick as thieves as they were several years younger than the rest of them. And for a long time, they had felt like outsiders to the core unit group of friends. It had led them to forming their own exclusive unit that few had been allowed entrance to over the years. That they would try to solve this problem on their own didn't surprise him one bit.

 

"It's true," Blake said from the doorway; Brian turned to him with a frown. Sighing, Blake entered the room and sat down next to Ted. "We were going to look into doing something about Simon ourselves; but then we had that Ben scare, where he ended up in the hospital for two weeks. After that, life got busy and we never got around to doing anything more than working with the other artists to thwart Simon's plans."

 

"And that's why you should have said something," Brian said, his utter frustration at his husband and his partner-in-crime leaking into his voice. God spare him from stubborn, independent, strong-willed twinks. "As a family, we could have worked together to make sure these kids don't get harmed."

 

"And you're right," Blake conceded, throwing Brian completely off of his game. He hadn't expected that. "Which is exactly why I kept urging Justin to come clean and do something about it years ago; but you know what he's like. I've only met one person that has the ability to out stubborn him; and that's you. But since you didn't know, and I was sworn to secrecy, there wasn't much that could be done."

 

Brian hummed thoughtfully; he couldn't really argue with that assessment. Justin had even managed to out stubborn Debbie at times; he remembered all too well the numerous times Deb had tried to talk Justin out of doing something - mostly pinning his hopes on Brian - and Justin jutting out his jaw and doing it anyways.

 

"And if I had said something to you against his wishes," Blake said in that reasonable tone that he used when he was counseling someone; a ploy that often annoyed Brian, but managed to soothe his inner turmoil at the same time. "If I had broken his faith; what would have happened the next time something like this would have come up?"

 

"The little twat would have kept it to himself and tried to solve it on his own," Brian sighed, echoing Ted's earlier thoughts. "I know that, Blake; I'm well aware of my husband's flaws."

 

"Exactly," Blake said with a serene smile. "Rock meet hard place. At least if he has someone to confide in, he's not going off half-cocked and offering blow jobs to assholes and then blackmailing said assholes into dropping lawsuits." And then Blake colored as he looked at Brian with wide-eyes. "I mean…"

 

Brian snorted at his expression, a small amused smile curling on his lips when Ted looked back and forth between the two of them, utterly confused by Blake's words. Blake bit his lower lip and looked away, obviously realizing that he'd inadvertently given up one of Justin's long kept secrets. Or at least, he thought he had. Brian had actually known all about that situation years ago.

 

"I'm well aware of the Kip situation," Brian huffed, waving off Blake's concern with a flick of his hand. "I learned about that not too long after it happened; although, I never let on to Justin that I knew about it. I let him keep it a secret, despite the fact that I wanted to throttle him when I found out."

 

"The Kip situation?" Ted asked faintly, his brow furrowed.

 

"Yeah, that dickhead who tried to sue me for sexual harassment because I wouldn't promote him," Brian huffed, rolling his eyes as he thought of the little asshole.

 

"I know that," Ted huffed in exasperation. "I just wasn't aware that it had been _Justin_ that had gotten the asshole to back down."

 

"Apparently," Brian shrugged; he had long since gotten over that particular foible of Justin's, mostly because there were so many others that had him nearly throttling the twat. "The idiot kid hit on Kip; and then in the middle of getting a blow job, happened to drop the fact that he was a minor and that his daddy had beat the shit out of the last adult who'd had sex with him. Funny thing was, he wasn't even lying, the cunning little fucker. Craig actually _had_ kicked my ass; just not for the reason that he'd implied. And then he promised said moron that he wouldn't say anything to his daddy if he'd do him just one small favor. Next thing you know, the suit had been dropped."

 

"I don't know whether to be proud or appalled," Ted said, staring at Brian with a weird amalgamation of the aforementioned emotions.

 

"Join the club," Brian groused. "I can't tell you how many times that brat has given me a fucking heart attack due to his refusal back down."

 

Silence fell between the three of them as they mulled over the things that had been said; Brian sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose as some of the tension that he'd been retaining melted away. He may not have known just why he'd come or what he'd wanted out of his initial impulse visit, but it had done some good at putting things in to perspective and cleared out the clutter in his mind.

 

"Are we going to be okay?" Ted asked, arching a brow.

 

"We're fine, Theodore," Brian reluctantly conceded; and they were for the most part. He couldn't help adding a warning, however. "But if it happens again, I will kick your ass. I don't care if Justin wants you to swear on Marilyn Monroe; the next time something like this happens, and he wants to keep quiet, remind him of this of this situation and the fact that I will murder you if I'm left in the dark."

 

"Well, so long as you aren't overreacting…" Ted stated with a dry smile.

 

"Fuck off," Brian huffed as he got to his feet. "Be glad that I'm not kicking your ass right now." He headed for the door, pausing only when he reached the bags that he'd set against the wall. He turned and pointed at them. "By the way, those are clothes for Luc. I can't even begin to express my horror at what you consider clothing. I don't care that they were Ralph Lauren – plaid, button-down baby jumpers should not be a thing."

 

Ted scowled and crossed his arms over his chest as Blake burst out into laughter.

 

"I told you he was going to queen out," Blake snickered as he headed over to the stack of bags by the door. "But noooo, you wouldn't listen to me. Hell, he hates when Justin wears his GAP cargo pants and t-shirts just to paint; there was no way in hell he was going to look at those and think they were adorable."

 

"My mother bought those," Ted muttered with a petulant moue.

 

"I could tell," Brian snarked as he opened the door. "Considering that they are just as boring and as much of an eyesore as most of the clothing that you've worn all your life."

 

And then he walked out, smirking when he heard Blake continue to laugh and comment on the jumpers as he closed the door.

 

"Just give it up, Teddy," Blake snickered as he began pulling things out of the bags. "Those things are awful; put him in one when she comes to visit or when we go over there, but otherwise they're best left forgotten in the back of the dresser."

 

Well, at least one of them had taste.


	99. March 31 (Part One)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay in getting this chapter out; unfortunately, I was unexpectedly called away on business and I didn't have a chance to write anything for several days. And then, when I did get back, I had to catch up on things, so that set me back even further on my writing schedule. But I'm back now, and I will hopefully not have to disappear like that again for a while. Thanks for your continued support.

**March 31 (Part One)**

"I will not kill my husband; I will not kill my husband; I will not kill my husband," Justin muttered under his breath, adopting his mantra from months before, although for different reasons this time. "It is illegal and I look horrible in orange, and I would be missing out on years of glorious sex. I will not kill my husband."

He sighed and rubbed his crusty eyes and then sneezed violently; sniffling a bit, he grabbed a tissue as he blatantly ignored the loud voices outside his studio door, thanking his foresight for putting a lock on the door. Now, if they'd just get the hint and fucking leave him in peace already, he'd be a much happier man.

Blowing his nose, he rolled over onto his side and cuddled up on his body pillow that he dragged in and placed on the futon this morning when it looked as if Anna was going to start hovering like everyone else. Christ, you'd think that no one had ever gotten a cold while pregnant; not that he actually had a full blown cold. And no, he wasn't in denial. This wasn't at all like Brian's not-cold in December. This truly was just the sniffles.

He wasn't coughing; he wasn't running a fever. He did have a few minor body aches and he was sneezing and sniffling, but there was no real congestion to deal with. It was a mild thing, likely due to the fact that he had been stressed recently and had been running around more than usual. But, he couldn't help that – between the show, and the fights and the baby shower, he'd been busy and had worn himself down more than he'd realized at first.

But it was nothing serious.

Unless you asked his friends and family; Christ, he was about ready to ask Carl if he'd mind helping him hide some bodies if this kept up.

It had started yesterday, when Brian came back from the visit with Ted and Blake that he wasn't supposed to know about; but did because like he couldn't figure out what Brian had been planning when he'd muttered something about shopping for Luc. He had known that it would only be a matter of time before Brian confronted Ted and Blake.

His husband wasn't a stupid man; and Justin had known that eventually Brian would put the pieces together and realize that Blake had been the friend present when they'd overheard Simon. From there, it wouldn't be all that hard for him to figure out that Blake had likely spilled the beans to Ted, because Blake could never keep things from Ted. But Justin hadn't done or said anything because he knew that Brian needed to hash this out with Ted without his interference if they were going to keep working together smoothly.

Plus, he'd been feeling a bit under the weather since he'd gotten up that morning; and the less he had to deal with Brian's hovering, the better. A thought that proved correct when Brian came home from Ted and Blake's and discovered him hiding in his studio.

 

_"Justin?" Brian called as he lightly knocked on the door; Justin grimaced and tried to clear his throat of any congestion. "Are you in here?"_

_"Yeah," Justin called from where he'd been huddled on the futon, cringing when he heard how rough his voice sounded. "Just working on something; I'll be out later."_

_There was a long pause, and for a brief moment, Justin had thought that Brian had accepted his excuse and walked away; but he quickly realized that Fate hadn't been on his side that day there when were no familiar footsteps heading away from the door. Fuck._

_"Are you okay?" Brian asked, a note of worry creeping into his voice. "You sound funny."_

_"Fine, it's likely just the door muffling my voice," Justin grimaced again, feeling a tad bit bad about lying to his husband; but then he remembered Brian's reaction to his first dizzy spell and the way he'd hovered over Justin despite his protests, and he clammed up._

_"Right," Brian said, a suspicious note creeping into his voice; Justin cursed under his breath. He was so fucked. "And is there a reason you're yelling at me through the door instead of opening it and speaking to me like a normal person."_

_"Uh…" Justin hedged, trying to think of a good reason for not opening the door when he'd first heard Brian. "My hands are covered in charcoal?"_

_"Was that a statement or a question, Sunshine?" Brian asked with not little amount of exasperation; Justin huffed and buried his face into his body pillow. There was no way that he was going to get rid of his husband now._

_Not that he was ready to concede defeat by any means._

_"A statement," Justin said, but he knew that it was futile; Brian had caught the scent of his fabrication and was now going to hold on like a terrier with a bone._

_"Sure it was," Brian drawled; and Justin could so see the look on his face as he said. Fuck, and double fuck. "Open the door and prove it to me."_

_"Brian…" Justin whined; and then he scowled when Brian just banged on the door once more, not at all taken in by Justin's act._

_"Open the door, Justin," Brian commanded. "Or I go and get the key; and I will open it myself."_

_"Fine," Justin muttered, not that he expected Brian to hear that._

_He threw aside the mound of blankets that he'd been curled up under and crawled off the futon, straightening out his clothing to make himself more presentable. Hopefully he didn't look as bad as he felt and Brian would walk away satisfied with Justin's little white lie._

_Yeah, he didn't really believe that one himself._

_Shuffling away to the door, he rubbed his eyes and nose and dreaded opening it, especially when Brian began to tap an impatient rhythm on the door with his fingertips. Justin huffed, braced himself and then slowly opened the door to meet Brian's very unimpressed look. His husband's assessing gaze slid over his face and body, and then quickly took in the futon topped with a little mound of used tissues and frowned._

_"Allergies?" Brian asked as he flicked his unhappy gaze back to Justin._

_"Maybe?" Justin hesitantly said, his voice lilting in the end, turning the statement into more of a question._

_"Please tell me you're not getting sick," Brian said, pinching the bridge of his nose._

_"I'm not getting…" Justin began to parrot dutifully, but halted when his nose tickled and he ended up sneezing three times in a row. Sniffling miserably, he grimaced, but continued as if he hadn't just given himself away. "…sick."_

_"That doesn't reassure me any, Sunshine," Brian said, arching a brow._

_"I'm fine," Justin insisted, even as he sniffled again; Brian pursed his lips and crossed his arms over his chest and just stared at Justin until he was squirming._

_"Sure, you are," Brian said; and then he turned on his heel and headed towards their bedroom with Justin following on his heels. "I'm calling the doctor."_

_"Brian…" Justin huffed, and then he sniffled again belying his early comments; Brian glared at him over his shoulder, but kept right on walking towards the room and likely his cell phone. "It's just the sniffles; I don't need to see Liz."_

_"Still calling her," Brian said, picking up his cell phone and hitting a couple of buttons; Justin huffed again and threw himself on the bed._

_He couldn't believe that Brian actually had his doctor on speed dial._

 

But Justin hadn't gotten irritated by that.

He fully acknowledged that calling Liz had been a wise idea so that he knew what to do and how the cold might affect Sunbeam if it ever developed from the sniffles into a full blown cold or the flu. He even tolerated Brian's hovering and pampering for an hour or two because it felt nice; but then, he started making noises about calling his mom and asking her advice before long and then Justin wanted to do nothing more than to drop kick him out of the house. Like hell was he going to deal with her mother henning too.

He had even thought that he'd gotten his way when he glared at Brian and told him that if he even thought of calling his mother or Deb, he would be enjoying the guest room for the next couple of weeks. Brian had huffed, rolled his eyes and stalked away; leaving Justin bundled up on the chaise in the living room.

Justin had laid there, reading, and feeling quite smug that he had won for about two hours, and then Brian's reinforcements had shown up.

 

_Justin stared balefully at a cheerful Emmett and an amused Blake, the latter of whom was sitting on the edge of the chaise with a face mask on and laughter in his eyes. Emmett set a picnic basket, of all things, down on the floor and sat on the foot stool._

_"Why are you two even here?" Justin asked with no little amount of exasperation before turning to Blake with a frown. "Especially you! You could get Luc sick, you idiot."_

_"Hence the mask," Blake said, tapping the mask with his finger and shrugging. "Plus I'll shower and change once I get home. I just needed an hour or two away, and this was as good of an excuse as any."_

_"Honestly," Justin rolled his eyes; and then he looked at the picnic basket with curiosity, the smells coming from it making his mouth water and his stomach rumble. "It's a minor cold, not the plague. Not even that; it's more like the sniffles and it's annoying more than anything."_

_"We know that, Baby," Emmett smirked, opening the basket to reveal several tubs of chicken with rice soup and a couple of loaves of his crusty, homemade bread. Justin licked his lips. "But Big Bad was a wee bit panicked and it was just best to humor him rather than reason with him at the time."_

_Justin scowled, but did accept the bowl of soup that Emmett had just poured. What? He may be irritated that Brian had called them, but he wasn't stupid enough to turn away freshly made bread with butter and steaming soup._

_"And to give him credit," Blake said, snickering when Justin moaned in appreciation at the first bite of soup. "He only called Emmett to ask if he could make you some chicken soup._ _**I'm** _ _only here because Ted and I were visiting with Em and Drew when he called. Bad news is, Ted was on the phone with Todd when he did."_

_Justin froze, his eyes widening with horror as he stared at his two friends._

_"Oh, God," Justin groaned, smacking his palm against his forehead. "That means that it will eventually get back to Deb and I'll never get any peace."_

_"Please," Emmett snorted as he sliced and buttered a piece of bread for him and Blake each. "Like that was going to happen with Anna here; you know damned well that if Deb didn't hear it from someone in passing, Anna will be on the phone with your mother and Deb the second she shows up tomorrow."_

_"Maybe I'll just hide in my studio all day," Justin hummed and then took a bite of bread, his eyes closing in pleasure as the taste of yeasty bread and creamy butter burst across his palate; Emmett always made the best stuff.._

_"Good luck with that," Blake snorted. "You know that if you're in there for longer than four hours, she'll call Brian and find out anyways."_

_Justin groaned and leaned against the back of the chaise, but didn't say a word. He didn't need to. They were all well aware of Anna's tenacity and resourcefulness._

_"On the positive side; you do have plenty of homemade soup," Blake said with a grin, snickering when Justin glared at him._

_"Someone shoot me now," Justin grumbled around a mouthful of bread; and then smiled beatifically at Emmett as there was no reason to upset the chef of this glorious soup and bread. "Not that I don't appreciate the gesture; but I could have done that myself."_

_"Not according to Big Bad," Emmett said, chuckling when Justin's expression soured at the mention of his husband; Brian was so going to pay for this. "He said, and I quote, 'Please bring me some soup so that I don't walk in tomorrow and find my idiot husband passed out on the kitchen floor;' unquote. Face it, Baby; the man knows you well."_

_"But Anna…!" Justin huffed, and then quickly snapped his mouth shut and stared at his laughing friends in utter annoyance._

_"Like you wouldn't find a way to get her out of the house and do it yourself," Blake pointed out, a knowing look on his face. Justin scowled._

_"Look at it this way," Emmett smirked. "At least he isn't trying to cook it himself."_

_"Yeah…" Justin shuddered, recalling all too well what had happened the first, and last, time Brian had attempted to make him soup. "I still have no idea what he did to that one batch that made the broth turn green."_

_"It's probably best that it remains a mystery," Emmett wisely said._

 

And while Brian calling in reinforcements annoyed him a bit, it still wasn't really what put Justin over the edge. He'd happily deal with the coddling if it meant that he can actually eat something that didn't look like a science experiment gone wrong. And as much as he loved Brian, cooking was not his forte. That's why they had Anna to make and stock their refrigerator with casseroles and the like for when Justin was busy.

Brian was well versed in take-out; and he was a whiz at reheating food, or making a simple sandwich. He could toast bread like a fiend, build a salad like a dream and microwave with the best of them. Get him anywhere near a stove, with raw ingredients, and you were taking your life in your own hands. He never even bothered to lie about his skills or attempt to better them. Cooking was just not his thing and he wasn't even going to pretend to have an interest in it.

Sighing, Justin blew his nose and looked out the window, watching the black SUV still sitting in his driveway, irritation crackling along his nerves as he recalled the near fight that he and Brian had this morning because _someone_ was being a mother hen.

 

_Justin shuffled down the stairs, his hair tousled and his nose red and running, as he staggered into the kitchen for his one cup of morning coffee. His body ached and it was days like this that he wished that he wasn't allergic to Tylenol, since it was the only over-the-counter drug Liz recommended for pain relief. Sometimes, life just fucking sucked._

_Flicking the machine on, he pressed his head against it and began to systematically stretch out his muscles a bit, hoping that it would ease come of the ache and lethargy. Maybe after breakfast, he'd go back upstairs and take a warm, soothing bath with some of the Epsom salts that Emmett had given him last night. Or well, maybe not._

_On the one hand, the thought of a twenty-minute soak was almost too good to pass up; but on the other, the thought of trying to climb in and out of the tub at this stage in his pregnancy sounded a bit sketchy, even with the bench and skid proof mat. It would be just his luck that he'd hit the one sliver of tub that had no protection and end up slipping and falling. So, on second thought, maybe he'd just wait until tonight. A shower would have to suffice._

_Grumbling, Justin poured his coffee and added the appropriate sugar and cream, and then inhaled half of it in one slurp. God, he needed that. Setting the cup aside, Justin turned towards the pantry and then froze as he found Brian, still sitting at the table, watching him in amusement. Justin frowned, glanced over at the clock, which read 9:30 a.m., and then turned back to Brian questioning look._

_One that Brian blatantly ignored; Justin's frown deepened because like hell was this happening. No way was he going to put up with Brian hovering all day. Eyeing his husband with no little amount of exasperation, Justin walked over to the pantry for his instant oatmeal, as he was in no mood to cook today and Anna was out doing the food shopping._

_"You're getting a late start today," Justin commented lightly as he came back out of the pantry with a box of apples and cinnamon oatmeal. He set it on the counter and then grabbed a sauce pan, filled it with water and set it to boil_

_"Not going in," Brian said with a shrug, sucking down the rest of his coffee; he set the mug aside and continued to read the paper as it were perfectly natural for him to skip out on work without a concern; Justin had a bad feeling that he knew where this was headed._

_"Why not?" Justin asked, watching his husband suspiciously from the corner of his eyes as he pulled a couple of eggs out of the refrigerator. "Is something wrong?"_

_"No," Brian said, flipping the page over without so much as looking up at Justin, much to his annoyance. "I just decided to work from home today."_

_"Really?" Justin said in a flat tone, his lips compressing as he faced his husband._

_"Yup," Brian said, offering up a bland smile that Justin wasn't buying one bit. "I didn't really feel like dealing with the drive and traffic today."_

_"Uh huh," Justin huffed, crossing his arms over his chest as he leaned against the counter. "And it has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that I have a cold?"_

_"No," Brian stated blandly; he got up and moved over to the coffee machine, to set another pot on to brew since Justin had only brewed enough for his one cup. You know, because he thought Brian was actually at work. "Why would it?"_

_"Why would…?" Justin huffed again, even as he accepted the soft kiss against his temple; although, he didn't return it as he didn't want to get Brian sick if he could at all help it. Brian with a cold was a fucking nightmare to deal with. "Brian…I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself; I don't need you hovering."_

_"Of course, you don't, Sunshine," Brian agreed, mixing enough sugar into his coffee to give a small mammal sugar shock. He took the mug and walked back over to the table and sat down, leisurely flipping his way through the paper._

_"No," Justin stated succinctly, his hands on his hips; because like hell was he going to deal with an over-attentive Brian underfoot all day._

_"No, what?" Brian asked mildly, as if he wasn't fully aware of what Justin was protesting. Justin pinched the bridge of his nose and prayed for strength._

_"I mean; no, there is no way in hell that you're staying here today," Justin said between grit teeth. "You have a meeting with Hell's Half Acre Brewery. You can't miss that."_

_"Ted and Cynthia can take care of it," Brian said, shrugging lazily, as if he hadn't just spent the last two weeks busting his ass on this presentation, only to hand it over because Justin had the fucking sniffles. Fuck that._

_"Ted and Cynthia **could** take care of it," Justin agreed with a sweet smile; Brian paused, waiting for the other shoe to drop as he was all too aware that there was no way in hell that Justin was actually conceding the argument. "But they **won't** because you _ _**are** _ _going to work and doing it yourself."_

_"Justin…" Brian huffed, pinching the bridge of his nose._

_"Brian…" Justin mocked, crossing his arms over his chest._

_"Sunshine…" Brian tried again and then sighed when Justin just shook his head._

_"Not happening," Justin huffed, turning to pour the packets of oatmeal into a_ _bowl and then adding the boiling water until it was at the desired consistency; and then he carefully added the eggs to the boiling water and put the timer on._

_"You are a stubborn twat," Brian groused, making Justin grin as he knew that he won when Brian made comments like that; he turned and arched a brow._

_"You knew that before you married me," Justin stated unsympathetically._

_"I just want to be here in case you need something," Brian grumbled, but started cleaning up as he knew that he'd lost the fight._

_"Brian, it's the sniffles." Justin rolled his eyes as he grabbed a bowl of berries out of the fridge and added them to a small bowl of yogurt. "I am more than capable of walking into the kitchen or the bathroom or the bedroom and getting whatever I need. I do not need you hovering over me, fretting over every single raspy breath I take."_

_"You're having trouble breathing?" Brian demanded, his eyes widening in alarm; and shit! Justin should have just kept his big mouth shut because now he was right back to where they started and he was so not dealing with this today._

_"Brian!" Justin growled in frustration, glaring at his now hovering husband; he pointed to the kitchen door. "Go! Just get the fuck out of here and go to work before I kill you."_

_"Fine," Brian growled in return, stalking over to the door; but then he paused, a thin smile on his face as he tossed over his shoulder. "It's not like Anna won't be here all day; I'll just be sure to mention your_ _**not-cold** _ _to her."_

_Justin bit back another scream of frustration as he watched his husband sail out the door, his phone out and at his ear as he made good on his threat. Glowering at the space that Brian had just emptied, he muttered under his breath._

_"I will not kill my husband; I will not kill my husband; I will not kill my husband. It is illegal and I look horrible in orange, and I would be missing out on years of glorious sex. I will not kill my husband."_

 

Justin fully admitted to being a bit aggravated by that incident; especially when Anna had cut her shopping trip short in order to be home by the time Brian was leaving. He distinctly recalled Brian's smug little smirk as he headed out the door, just as Anna walked in; really they couldn't have planned it better.

And they likely had; planned it that is.

Justin had glowered at them both and stomped off up to his room to have a shower and then holed himself up in the living room, only speaking to Anna once when she'd asked him if he wanted something more than soup for lunch. Not that it bothered her any; she was quite used to Justin's surliness when it came to be coddled while sick, and easily ignored it much to his irritation. She'd taken on more trying patients than he as she liked to remind him and his pouting wasn't going to deter her any.

But even with that, he still hadn't reached the point of being done; he could deal with Brian and Anna's machinations as they tended to let him do his thing and just worked around him much to his never ending irritation and amusement.

No, what had pushed him to the point of locking himself in his studio, bundled up on the futon, watching a black SUV in his drive way was the moment his mother and Deb showed up and wanted to ' _take care of him_.' He'd known it would happen eventually; and he'd known that they wouldn't be able to resist babying him, but he had hoped that he would have a little more downtime before they pushed their way through his door.

He should have known better.

 

_"What are you doing here?" Justin asked, a scowl on his face as he opened the front door to his mother's and Deb's concerned faces. He had briefly considered not answering it, but he knew that they'd just keep knocking on the door and ringing the bell until he finally caved to their whims._

_"Hey sweetheart," his mother said, pushing her way past Justin with, what he assumed, was her typical care package – soup, crackers, ginger ale and magazines. Deb followed closely behind. "We were in the neighborhood and thought we'd drop by for a visit."_

_"You know, that didn't work the first time you tried it," Justin huffed, closing the door with a bit more force than necessary; but all he had wanted was a quiet day, resting on the couch in the living room. He didn't need this. "It's not going to work now given the fact that you live over thirty minutes away, in an entirely different state. Try again."_

_"Well, he's definitely not feeling good," Deb cackled taking her own care package into the kitchen; only this one likely contained lasagna, garlic bread, hot chocolate mix and ice cream. Apparently Deb's method of dealing with illness was to kill it with an overabundance of garlic. "He only gets this pissy when he's sick."_

_"Well, I didn't doubt Brian,"  his mother said in a mild tone as she started filling his fridge with soup containers, completely ignoring the other four containers that were already in there. And why they thought he'd need that much soup for sniffles, he didn't know. "He was far too stressed for it not to be legitimate."_

_"Yeah, but he's also been acting like a first-time daddy," Deb said as she stacked a couple of lasagnas and two tubs of ice cream into the freezer. Justin pinched the bridge of his nose, wondering if his presence was even necessary for this conversation. You know, since they hadn't even acknowledged him since entering. "You know how he tends to overreact."_

_"You know, I **am** still standing right here," Justin reminded them, feeling decidedly pissy. "Maybe, instead of listening to Brian, you should ask me what I think on that matter."_

_"Oh, please, sweetheart," his mother snorted as she stacked small bottles of ginger ale into the fridge. "I know you far too well for that; I remember that time when you were about fifteen and you kept trying to convince me that it was nothing but the sniffles; and then, when it wouldn't go away after two weeks, I dragged you to the doctor, only to find out that you had pneumonia. Like I'd listen to you."_

_"Really?" Deb asked, as she put away the hot chocolate mix and then added a couple of loaves of bread to the fridge. "I wish Michael had been like that; it seemed that every single time he got so much as a hangnail, he was bemoaning his fate as if he'd gotten the plague. Brian wasn't all that much better."_

_"Justin would always hide it from me," his mother said, making a clucking sound with her tongue; Justin averted his eyes to the ceiling and asked the Gods or the Fates or whatever the hell was up there why they insisted on testing his patience this way. He, of course, got no answer. "He has always been far too independent for his own good."_

_"No, just no," Justin growled; he'd finally had enough of all this nonsense and was not going to deal with it anymore. "I have been dealing with Brian, Emmett, Blake and Anna all over here trying to help me. I'm not dealing with you too. Go home."_

_"Justin," his mother said in that tone that told him that she thought he was being unreasonable; Justin didn't care though and would be very happy to show them just how 'unreasonable' he could be._

_"What part of 'go home, I am fine' did you not understand?" Justin asked point blank; not that he thought it would get through to them, but it needed asking._

_"Don't be difficult, sweetheart," his mother said, dismissing him with a wave of her hand as she turned back to Deb and resumed their unpacking._

_"Don't be…?" Justin groused; and then he went silent for a minute, making the overbearing women in his life look up in concern. Justin glared at them and then hissed as he turned on his heel. "You know what, fuck this."_

_"Wait, where are you going, Sunshine?" Deb asked, following him out of the kitchen, a frown on her face._

_But Justin didn't bother to answer; he just took the stairs as quickly as he could, strode over to his studio and slammed the door, thankful that he'd had the presence of mind to put one of the containers of Emmett's soup in his mini-fridge in case he needed it. He quickly locked it, and then plopped down on his futon, shoving his iPod player ear buds into his ears to block out his mother's and Deb's knocking._

 

That had been two hours ago.

Since then, Justin had laid on the futon, alternatively sketching or reading; and then listening to music whenever his mother or Deb would try to pry him from his self-imposed exile. Not that it worked. In fact, the only reason he'd even turned off his mp3 player was that he knew that Brian would be home soon and he was more than capable of dealing with the _motherly-menace_ downstairs, enabling Justin to leave the studio.

Perking up when he heard a familiar motor coming up the drive, Justin sighed in relief when he saw Brian pull up to the garage and open it. Sitting up, Justin leaned against the pillows, his eyes still glued to the black SUV; and then twenty minutes later, he gave a mental cheer as the SUV pulled away with both his mother and Deb in it. But he didn't leave just yet; he didn't want to risk coming out, only for them to turn around for just one more thing like they were wont to do.

Tapping a pencil against his lips, Justin kept watch over the driveway, only turning away when he heard a key being slid into the lock. Looking up as Brian entered; Justin rolled his eyes as his husband strolled through the door in his sweats, a smirk firmly planted on his face. He walked over and flopped onto the futon.

"Honey, I'm home!" Brian exclaimed, spreading his arms wide.

"I knew I should've hidden that key better," Justin snorted, but did smile at his husband's antics; shaking his head, Justin carded his fingers through Brian's hair.

"You do know that I could've just gotten a locksmith in here or found a way to remove the door had I wanted to," Brian snorted; and yes, Justin did know that. However, he also knew that Brian would never follow through on the threat unless it was absolutely necessary.

"Are they actually gone?" Justin asked warily, stretching out his neck muscles; Brian laughed. "Or is this a ruse to get me to surface?"

"I have sent our mothers on their merry way," Brian snickered, his eyes closing as Justin continued to pet him. "It is now safe for you to come out."

"Thank fuck," Justin groused; he let his hand fall away and then slid down to lie next to Brian, just enjoying his husband's presence. "Fucking overbearing mother hens."

"You love it," Brian teased, yelping when Justin jabbed him with his elbow.

"No," Justin grumbled, stretching out fully on the futon. "I really, really don't."

"It couldn't have been all that bad," Brian mildly stated, snickering when Justin turned and glared at him. "Anna said she left you pretty much alone and that the moms hadn't shown up until two hours ago."

"You have obviously not seen our refrigerator," Justin said with a wry grin. "Between Mom, Emmett and Anna, I think we have enough soup to feed an entire hospital ward."

"We can freeze it later," Brian shrugged, and then turned on his side to pet Justin.

"We'll need to," Justin hummed, closing his eyes as Brian's fingers carded through his hair. "There is no way I could go through all of that even in a month."

"Hmmm…" Brian hummed in response, still petting a happily purring Justin. "Oh, by the way; I meant to ask you earlier, but you were too busy trying to shove me out the door and I didn't have time to ask."

"What's that?" Justin asked a bit sleepily; God, he hated being sick. It always made him lethargic; and then add the pregnancy on top of that and all he wanted to do was curl up and sleep for several days straight.

"Where did you get that herbal tea that you gave me when I was sick," Brian asked, his hand sliding down and coming to a rest lightly on Justin's baby bump "I was thinking of stopping by and seeing if you could drink it since you can't take Tylenol. I know that it helped me a great deal when I had a cold."

Justin eyes popped open, panic flooding through his body at Brian's innocuous words. Shit. He had almost forgotten about that! Wincing, Justin turned towards Brian, wondering if he'd figured it out what he'd done and this was his way of getting Justin to confess; but Brian just stared back with honest curiosity, making Justin cringe and curse internally at his little white lie from months ago. Well, fuck; what should he do now?


	100. March 31 (Part Two)

**March 31 (Part Two)**

Brian shuffled into the diner, still feeling a bit peeved with Justin and his attitude that morning. It wasn't that he didn't understand the desire to minimize the coddling. After all, he was less than a peach to be around himself when he was sick and he fully admitted it, often hiding his own illnesses unless it reaped in delicious rewards.

Like an irritated, but fucking adorable Justin waiting on him hand and foot. He had to admit that a part of him had played his helplessness up a bit just to ruffle his husband's feathers in December. But it had seemed hardly fair that Justin had gotten off with barely a sniffle, while Brian had been feverish and achy and had the whole gamut.

But he digressed.

He got why Justin was irritated with everyone hovering over him; Brian was no better than he was when it came to coddling. What he hadn't appreciated was the way his husband had went all drama-princess over something as minor as him staying home and ordering him out of the house like a dog. That had annoyed him. After all, it wasn't as if Brian had planned to hover over him all day; he'd just wanted to be there in case his symptoms had gotten worse and he had to be taken into the hospital.

In fact, the only reason he'd left was he'd known that expression on Justin's face, and there was no way in hell that the little twat would actually listen to him. It was better for Brian to concede and leave rather than have Justin get even more worked up and stressed out by staying. Plus, he had a secret weapon in the form of Anna that was more than match for a disgruntled, tetchy Justin any day.

Sighing, Brian dug his fingertips into his eyes, trying to stave off the headache he felt building up behind them. It was for the best anyways; he really did want to be present for the Hell's Half Acre Brewery meeting since they were in final approval for the commercials and the magazine ads and he'd prefer to be on hand if they wanted changes or had any questions.

Looking up as Kiki came up to the counter, Brian smiled weakly as she instantly poured him coffee without even having to be asked. He put in an order for a sandwich for him, Yasmeen, Cynthia and Ted since they would be working right up until lunch time and they only had thirty minutes before they had to go into a phone conference with Nebula Cosmetics. There was no way any of them would have time to grab food. And this was the least he could do since he planned to work their asses off today.

"What are you doing here so late, kiddo?" a voice asked, startling Brian out of his thoughts. He looked up and smiled at Deb.

"Hey Ma," Brian said, stirring some much needed sugar into his coffee; Christ, how they managed to burn perfectly good coffee nearly every time he had no idea. He sipped his coffee and then met Deb's eyes with a small frown of confusion. "What are you doing here? I thought it was your day off?"

"I only came in to work on the coming schedule," Deb said; and come to think of it, he had noticed that she wasn't wearing her typical uniform. "Jen is supposed to meet me after she's done showing a house. We want to go to this little baby boutique that we heard about from Anna and Linda."

"Oh, God," Brian groaned; just what they needed, more fucking clothing and stuff for Sunbeam. "I never thought I would say this, but please stop buying my kid clothing; Sunbeam has for more than will ever be needed."

Deb just stared at him as if he had grown another head; and he had to admit that he didn't blame her. But Christ, they couldn't fit everything in the dressers as it was; they definitely didn't need anything more. And then Deb threw her head back and laughed at his pain, obviously thinking he was joking.

"Oh hush," Deb huffed, dismissing his pained groans with a wave of her hand. "There is no such thing as too much; isn't that what you always say?"

"I do always say that…" Brian agreed, his eyes sparkling with mischief and his tongue firmly planted into his cheek. "Just not in that context."

"Yeah, I know exactly what context you meant it in," Deb snorted; but she did drop the topic of baby clothing. Not that Brian didn't expect yet another haul of clothing and toys coming his way in the next few days if she and Mother Taylor had any say in it. "You didn't answer my question; what are you doing in here so late?"

"I have a busy day ahead of me and won't be able to stop for food," Brian said with a bland smile; no need for her to know that Justin was sick and had tossed him out on his ear. "I figured I'd order something now for all of us and take it back to the office. Plus, Justin is out of lemon bars; I want to head straight home after work."

"Uh huh," Deb hummed, looking at him suspiciously. "Why couldn't Yasmeen pick something up?"

"I need her in the meeting," Brian shrugged. "She won't have time to go pick up something today and I don't want to waste time on delivery. Plus, lemon bars. If I don't bring some home, I'll find Justin knee deep in Twinkies."

Deb arched her brows at that, obviously not believing a word he was saying; she opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off when Emmett took the stool next to Brian. Shaking her head she walked off, muttering something about checking on his order; but Brian didn't doubt that she'd back, demanding answers.

He just didn't know what to tell her without her catching wind that Justin was ill.

"You need to lay off the boy and his Twinkies," Emmett huffed, smiling as Kiki walked up and set a glass of water in front of him.

"I need the boy to lay off the Twinkies," Brian huffed; he was well versed in this argument. Everyone kept telling him to leave it be; that eventually Justin would get sick of the Twinkies and move onto something else. Of course, that had been months ago and the twat was still hoarding them like a squirrel getting ready for winter. "It can't be healthy to eat that many of the fucking things."

"I thought you got him some sort of organic, all-natural, healthy Twinkie alternative," Emmett said; he took a sip of his water before flagging Kiki down. "Hey Kiki; my usual."

"That doesn't mean he should be eating twelve in a week," Brian groused, and then he grimaced as he took another sip of his coffee.

"Now you're just exaggerating," Emmett said, rolling his eyes.

"You think so?" Brian challenged, arching a brow as he turned to his friend. "You do remember that I had enough fucking Twinkies to put one in each favor box and _still_ have plenty left over for the twat. There were fifty of those fucking things."

"Point," Emmett conceded with a wrinkle of his nose; and then he did something that had Brian wanting to hit him upside the back of the head Deb-style. "Well, I doubt you have to worry about that at the moment. I doubt he'll be up for eating much of anything other than soup and cracker."

He turned to Emmett, certain that his eyes had widened to the size of saucers as he stared in mute horror. He frantically shook his head, praying to any deity available and listening that Deb hadn't overheard that little tidbit. But, of course, since his life is absolute shit some days, the Fates were against him. Deb, with her bionic hearing, shuffled over and gave Brian a worried look.

"Sunshine's sick?" She asked, her eyes bouncing between Brian and Emmett.

Brian glared at a rapidly paling Emmett, who was staring right back with an apologetic look. Brian huffed and fixed Emmett with a ' _fix this right the fuck now'_ look, because no way in hell was he going to deal with a queening Justin when he found out. Emmett swallowed thickly and turned to Deb with a less than convincing, bright smile.

"No, not at all," Emmett reassured hastily; Brian snorted because really, he'd told lies better at four than Emmett was now. Something that became evident as Deb narrowed her eyes, making Emmett squirm. "It's just the sniffles, nothing to worry about, Deb."

"Is that so?" Deb huffed, sending Brian the evil eye, as she likely realized why Brian was late this morning. She turned back to Emmett and rested her hands on her hips. "You wouldn't happen to be lying to me would you Emmett Honeycutt?"

"No, of course not, sweetie," Emmett chirped, fluttering his hands all around his face and chest as he tried to shake off Deb's scent. Brian rolled his eyes, because really, that was the worst fucking acting job he'd ever seen. "Why would I do a thing like that?"

"Uh huh," Deb said, staring at Emmett with a gimlet eye, waiting for him to crack. She didn't even bother asking Brian as he was mostly immune to her interrogation methods for the most part. "We'll just see about that then, won't we?"

And then she stalked off. Emmett slumped in his seat, cowering under Brian's accusatory glower and then flinching when Brian began a slow, sarcastic clap.

"Nice going, big mouth," Brian huffed, wondering if he should call Justin now and warn him that he had incoming; and then he decided against it because it wasn't his fault this time and Emmett could have the hours of explaining to the drama princess. "Now she's going to run straight over there and do you recall how pissy Justin was yesterday? That is going to be nothing compared to how pissy he's going to be if they show up?"

"They?" Emmett asked a bit timidly.

"Yes, she's supposed to meet up with Mother Taylor to go shopping," Brian said; giving Emmett an evil smile when the other man thumped his head on the counter a couple of times. "Three guesses as to where they are going to head once Deb informs Jen of your completely unconvincing explanation."

"Fuck me," Emmett groaned; and Brian was tempted to comment that he'd leave that honor to Drew; but, frankly, he was a bit more concerned about his husband and the absolutely foul mood he'd be in tonight. "You have to warn Justin."

"Oh, hell no," Brian huffed as his order was set down in front of him; Kiki shook her head and sent a pitying look Emmett's way before she went off to help another customer. Brian stood and grabbed his bag; he patted his friend on the shoulder and then threw over his shoulder as he left. "You created this mess; you clean it up."

**… … … … …**

Brian sat as his desk, staring at the computer; he had just finished the video conference with Nebula Cosmetics and was briefly considering saying fuck it and heading home to head off the mother hen brigade. It would be the nice thing to do; but at the same time, he did have another conference call to make, although one not as pressing as the Nebula account and he had the stack of paperwork from hell.

Sighing, Brian dragged the pile of folders towards him, completely unenthusiastic about this aspect of his job; but it was a necessary evil. Especially if he didn't want any surprises creeping up on him later on. Flipping the first one open, he'd gotten about halfway through the report when his cell phone rang.

Pulling it towards him, Brian frowned when he recognized the number from the local precinct. Sending a silent pray that everything was fine, Brian hit the send button and answered the call from a far too familiar number with the tiniest bit of dread

"Kinney-Taylor," Brian answered brusquely, his pinching when a familiar voice came over the line.

"Brian, this is Tak," the detective succinctly said in his typical no-nonsense tone. "I wanted to call and let you know that something happened over the weekend and…"

"Please, tell me you caught the asshole," Brian demanded impatiently; yes, he knew he should wait for the other man to state his business, but he also couldn't help hoping that the stalker had been caught and this was all over.

"No," Tak said a bit regretfully; Brian sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He hadn't expected that to be the case, but again it would have been nice if this were all over. "But we did get a break in the case and I wanted to…"

"What happened?" Brian demanded again, his voice tight; and he grit his teeth when Tak sighed over the line.

"Brian," Tak said with no little exasperation. "Will you please let me finish?"

Brian grunted impatiently, but remained otherwise silent. Tak huffed, although luckily he sounded more amused than irritated with Brian's antics.

"I'd rather not get into the details now," he said, his tone sobering as he continued. "Do you and Justin have time to talk in the next few days?"

"Justin has a cold," Brian said, humming under his breath; part of him wanted to say that he would be happy to meet up with Tak and fill Justin in afterwards; but there was also the issue of Simon and Justin would be the best source of information when it came to that asshole. "But he should be fine in a couple of days; so, maybe we can meet up on Wednesday or Thursday? I'd rather not cut him out of this again." Brian paused, wondering if he should mention Simon; and then decided to keep it general. "Plus, we too have some information that may or may not be a lead in the case. And Justin would be the best person to tell you since he knows the person it involves."

Tak hummed thoughtfully. "Thursday would work for me." He paused; and then Brian sat up at the vicious glee in the other man's tone as he continued. "It's not like our guest will be going anywhere, anytime soon."

Brian swallowed, his throat suddenly dry at the implications behind that statement; there was only one other person that would make the other man react in that manner.

"You have Blaine," Brian said softly; he hadn't meant to say it out loud, but now that he had, he waited, hoping for a confirmation of his suspicions.

"I can neither confirm nor deny that," Tak said; Brian snorted at the other man's hedging, a small triumphant smile spreading across his lips. "You know that. And I'd really rather leave it at that for now given the circumstances."

"It's not a denial," Brian stated a bit smugly; they did have Blaine. He could feel it.

"It's not a confirmation either," Tak said dryly, but it was only lip service as far as Brian was concerned. He could hear it in the other man's voice; the detective was far too relieved, to relaxed for it not to be true. "But nice try."

"How early can you meet?" Brian asked, now wishing that Justin wasn't sick so that they could meet with the detective sooner. But as always, Justin and Sunbeam and their health came first. "Justin can drive in with me in the morning and then either take the car service back or spend the day here at Kinnetik."

"I'm in at seven," Tak said as he flipped through some papers. "So, eight? It will give me a chance to see what's happening and also reschedule if I need to before you leave."

"I'll be leaving at six as usual," Brian said; and then winced at the idea of trying to pry his husband from his bed at that hour; but hopefully the knowledge that they had Blaine in custody would be enough of an incentive. "So, don't delay on our parts; but eight would be fine. Justin might even be mostly awake at that point in time."

"I know how that is," Tak chuckled. "I'll talk to you then."

"See you on Thursday," Brian said as he hung up his phone; he sat back in his chair and felt some of the weight lifting from his shoulders. It wasn't completely gone, and wouldn't be until the stalker was locked away without a key, but at least this was one less worry.

**… … … … …**

A couple of hours had passed, and Brian had, not only made a significant dent in the paperwork, but he had also done his last conference call and was again considering leaving to go home for the day. He glanced at the clock; it was four o'clock now, and if he hauled ass, he might just miss most of rush hour and could be home before five.

He looked at the pile of folders on his desk; he really should finish that before he left for the day, but there was at least another two to three hours of work, and he really didn't want to leave Justin at home alone for too long. Tapping his pen against his lips, he nodded and grabbed his briefcase, and began stuffing the files into it.

Done with that, he began clearing off his desk and stood to go tell Yasmeen, Cynthia and Ted that he was leaving for the day; which was why the latter decided to walk into his office with an uncertain look on his face. Groaning, Brian sat back down in his chair and wondered what had happened now.

"Theodore," Brian greeted blandly as he steepled his hands in front of him; Ted grimaced and then came in and sat down. "Can I help you with something?"

"Well, that all depends," Ted hedged, looking everywhere but at Brian; and Brian felt his heart sink into his stomach. This wouldn't be good. "I have some news to deliver."

"And?" Brian asked, arching a brow; Ted blew out a heavy breath.

"Do you want the good news, the annoying news or the bad news first?" Ted asked, meeting Brian's gaze for the first time since he'd entered. Double crap.

"Why do I have a feeling I'm not going to like this?" Brian sighed as he leaned back into his chair, crossing one leg over the other.

"Because you know that things are going too smoothly and it was only a matter of time before people pissed you off again?" Ted deadpanned; looking relived when a faint smile flickered over Brian's lips at his weak joke.

"How about instead, I'll go home," Brian proposed, knowing full well that there was no way in hell that it was going to happen, but remaining hopeful nonetheless. "And you and Cynthia can deal with it all."

"Well, that is one option," Ted conceded with a nod of his head. "But you'll have to deal with the annoying news when you get there."

"Why do I have a feeling that I know where this is going?" Brian sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose; the headache from earlier came back full force.

"Because you were in the diner today when Emmett fucked up," Ted quipped with a peppy smile that was frankly terrifying. Brian eyed him warily.

"Let me guess," Brian huffed, a mirthless smile on his lips. "Emmett either chickened out or he couldn't get in touch with Justin, and Deb and his mother are over at the house right now, bringing out my husband's more charming side."

"I don't know that they felt that it was very charming," Ted snorted.

"That was sarcasm, Theodore," Brian said, rolling his eyes. "I'm very well aware of what a tetchy brat Justin is when he's ill."

"I figured," Ted shrugged, a faint smile on his lips. "But I did want to drive home the situation you'll be walking into tonight."

"Great." Brian closed his and leaned his head against the back of his chair; he was exhausted already just imagining how much of a snit Justin was likely in right now. "So what is the bad news?"

"Michael will be home for a visit this coming weekend," Ted stated hesitantly, wincing when Brian snapped his head up and stared at him incredulously.

"Fuck me," Brian cursed under his breath; like he fucking needed this now. Ben promised he'd keep his wayward waif with him. "Why?"

"Jenny told him on no uncertain terms that he was not to show up at her birthday party on the twenty-sixth," Ted said a bit unhappily; he didn't look anymore enthused at the thought of seeing Michael than Brian felt. "And they worked out a deal where he and Ben would come to see her this weekend instead."

"And how long as this been in the planning?" Brian asked sourly, his lips twisting into a sneer at the thought. "And why haven't I heard of this before now?"

"Well, to be honest," Ted said, looking beyond peeved. "I wasn't even aware of it until earlier today. Emmett filled me in after you left this morning. And then you've been in meetings all day and I didn't have the chance to fill you in until now."

"Well fuck," Brian cursed again; he leaned his head back again and stared at the ceiling. There had to be a way to avoid this. Maybe he and Justin would get away for the weekend. He cocked his head thoughtfully, warming to the idea as it germinated. "Well, I know where I'll be this weekend."

"And that is?" Ted asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Anywhere but fucking here," Brian stated emphatically, smiling when Ted snorted. "Maybe Justin would be up for a trip up to New York."

"Are you sure he should be traveling?" Ted asked, his brow pinching with worry.

"He should be fine," Brian said, already planning the trip out in his mind. "The doctor doesn't have him on any restrictions, his cold should be mostly cleared up by then and he's only 29 weeks. New York is only an hour and a half flight. It should be fine."

"Well, you might want to get started on planning in that case," Ted said as he stood.

"Luckily, we still have the loft there; and it should still be unoccupied," Brian said mostly to himself. "I'm pretty sure the last tenant moved out a couple of months back and I haven't bothered to find another yet. Plus, Daphne and Liam are there; Justin will love to spend some time with her."

"And if you can find the time to get in a little revenge on a certain art writer, all the better?" Ted asked a bit slyly, smirking when Brian tipped his head to the side and arched an impressed brow.

"See, Theodore," Brian smirked, a vicious light filling his eyes. "You do know me."

"Just don't do anything that will force me to bail you out," Ted snorted. "I do _not_ want to deal with a ranting when I inevitably have to call him to let him know you're in jail for rightfully smearing the insect into the ground."

"Trust me," Brian said as he sat up and began the process of getting ready to leave once more. He had a trip to plan and he needed to talk to Justin about what they should and should not tell Tak about Simon. "He'll never be able to trace it back to me."

"Famous last words for 200 Alex," Ted huffed. "Anyways, Michael will be arriving late Friday afternoon/evening and leaving lat Sunday. Just in case you want to avoid that."

"I think it will be best," Brian said, his lips compressing into a thin line; he really wanted to know why this was the first time he was hearing about this. He really hoped that it wasn't a ploy by Deb to get him to forgive Michael again. He'd be seriously pissed off it that was the case. "No doubt he'll try to talk to me, thinking that I actually missed him or something, and that would be very bad for all involved. Besides, this should be about Jenny; not me and Justin."

"Agreed," Ted nodded as he headed for the door; and then he paused. "Should I have Yasmeen book tickets for you and Justin for early Friday afternoon?"

"Nah, I'll talk to Justin and we'll take care of it ourselves," Brian said, waving the offer off. "Thanks for the heads up, Theodore. Oh, wait; what was the good news?"

"Oh; Justin managed to lock himself in his studio before he was tempted to kill Deb and Jen," Ted snickered. "So, at the very least, you won't be going home to a bloodbath."

"What does it say about my life that _that_ is the highlight of my day?" Brian asked no one in particular. Seriously, how the fuck was this his life?

"You need a vacation?" Ted suggested with smirk.

"I think I should just pack Justin up and move us to some remote, deserted island," Brian huffed as he stood and grabbed his briefcase.

"You'd never survive," Ted deadpanned. "It's much too far away from an Armani store."

"Theodore?" Brian huffed, giving him the evil eye.

"Yes, Brian?" Ted asked dutifully.

"Get the fuck out of my office before I fire you," Brian said, shaking his head when Ted just smirked and headed out of the office. Some days, he really wished that Ted was still just a little bit afraid of him; it made life so much easier.

**… … … … …**

Brian sat in his car and stared at the black SUV in his driveway with no little amount of irritation. And then he looked up at the windows to Justin's studio. He couldn't see the little twat, but he had no doubt that he was there on his futon and staring out at the driveway in the hope that Deb and his mother would hurry up and fucking leave already. But Brian had no doubt that the two women were in the house, fretting at Justin's not-cold and wringing their hands over their Sunshine.

He briefly considered starting up the car and driving away, leaving Justin to get the fuck over himself and deal with their mothers as he so didn't want to deal with this today. But then, he figured if he did it, he'd be facing drama princess on steroids and he might end up killing his husband himself.

How long were these fucking mood swings supposed to last?

Sighing, Brian opened the door and climbed out of the car; he'd worry about pulling it into the garage later tonight when he was certain he wouldn't be leaving again. Shutting the door, he walked into the house through the garage and toward the living room, where he could hear the low hum of voices. He set his brief case on table just outside the living room and then walked in, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Do I want to know why you're here?" Brian asked, even though he knew damned well why they were there. Both Jen and Deb looked up in surprise; well, he could see that given that he was about two hours early.

"We came over when we heard that Sunshine was sick," Deb said, jutting her chin out stubbornly; and Brian barely resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

"That must have gone over well," Brian said dryly; he leaned against the entry way. "So, where is my wayward husband?"

And again, Brian was pretty sure he knew the answer to that; or, at least, he k new where had been about forty-five minutes ago. That could have changed while he was in route and he didn't feel like searching the entire house for the stubborn twat.

"He told us to go away and locked himself in his studio," Deb huffed, looking highly offended by that; and Brian did roll his eyes then. Well, of course he did; he didn't know why she was acting so surprised by that it was typical Justin behavior. He arched a brow and looked a Mother Taylor, who flushed and looked away. "But that was four hours ago; shouldn't he be out by now? What if he collapsed in there?"

"Are you kidding?" Brian snorted, shaking his head at both of them; Deb and Jen looked back, completely bewildered by his question. "He has a stocked mini-fridge, a microwave, a coffee machine, a futon with blankets and sheets and a bathroom with shower in there. He could camp out in there for a week or two depending on how low his supplies are. Trust me; he's not coming out until you're gone."

"And how would he know that?" Deb demanded, while Jen looked torn between amusement and irritation.

"You do realize that the walls of his studio are mostly windows, right?" Brian said slowly, arching a brow when Deb's mouth dropped open. Brian smirked. "He'd know."

"Is it so wrong that we want to check up on him and make sure he's okay?" Deb demanded; and Brian would have snarked 'yes' if it weren't for the small flash of hurt he caught in her eyes. Instead, he sighed and prayed for patience. "Having a cold is no laughing matter when you're pregnant; a fever could harm the baby."

"No, there isn't," Brian agreed; and then he walked in and sat in a chair across from them as he tried to put his thoughts into words. "And if it were just you two showing up to see how he was feeling, it wouldn't be an issue. _But_ you do have to admit that you both tend to take over and end up smothering him every time he's sick."

"But…" Jen protested, and then fell silent as she grimaced and thought about it.

"Mother Taylor," Brian began, and then he paused as again he considered his words. "Look, I get it; he's your baby and you want to solve all his problems for him. That's natural. And it's especially bad because he's always been fiercely independent. But you need to let him make his own mistakes."

Brian sighed; that didn't quite come out the way he'd intended, but it was true nonetheless. Over the years, a lot of the problems that had stemmed between Justin and his mother was her need to protect him from the ugly things in the world. But the sad fact was, just by being a beautiful, young gay man, Justin was always going to be exposed to them and no amount of sheltering was going to shield him from it.

But that was a matter for another time; right now, he had to make them understand that, while they have good intentions, and they just want to help and be involved, Justin needed some autonomy. There was so little that he could control about the events in their life at the moment, that he was feeling stressed and overwhelmed, and the way he was coping with it all was by, well, micromanaging his pregnancy for lack of a better way to put it. He was trying to control all aspects of it because he had no control elsewhere.

"Is he being bratty and selfish?" Brian said; he shrugged and cocked his head. "Yes, absolutely; it's his first pregnancy and instead enjoying a stress-free, happy one, he has been hospitalized, has had the constant threat of health issues due to his blood pressure, has had people interfering with our relationship, is dealing with a stalker, and has been so busy putting up with others telling him what he should be feeling and what he should be doing, that he can't simply enjoy it."

Brian paused; Deb still looked a bit put out, but Mother Taylor looked thoughtful. Well, Brian figured out of the two of them, she'd be the one to understand. After all, it was her son and she had run into his neurotic behavior many a time.

"He's allowed to feel a little selfish," Brian continued, not about to apologize for his husband attitude lately; he didn't feel they needed to. "And it's going to come to the point that he's going to start cutting you out of even the fun stuff so he doesn't have to deal with the stress. Be honest; how did you react when your mother did the same? Justin is a lot like you; I'm sure you chafed against the overwhelming helpfulness as well."

"Well, not so much my mother," Mother Taylor said a bit ruefully. "But definitely my mother-in-law. I couldn't do anything right in her opinion."

"And showing up here without even calling likely didn't help," Deb said softly, a bit of understanding on her face, even if she still looked hurt.

"Not really," Brian agreed. "Look Deb, I get that your house has an open door policy; you love the noise and having everyone around."

"But…?" Jen prompted softly.

"But Britin is Justin's sanctuary," Brian said; he needed for them and the others to understand this part.

Justin was feeling more and more threatened with every day that passed with the stalker at large. To come into his sanctuary and demand that he act a certain way, or do things a certain way or to even just allow them to take control was going to put his back up. This was his safe zone; it was the place he shouldn't have to worry about interference.

"And having it breached by a bunch of people without invitation is just going to irritate him," Brian continued. "Plus, he grew up with a certain set of etiquette rules, which I know you instilled in him yourself, Mother Taylor; showing up and taking over is only going to set him off, especially when he's already feeling bad."

"We just wanted to help," Deb said with a frown. "Sometimes it's as if he doesn't want us around."

"Sometimes it's as if he doesn't even want _me_ around," Brian huffed. "Cut him some slack; he's been through a rough and highly stressful time. It was only two weeks ago that he and I were nearly drugged at the opening. And then that was followed by the incident with Lindsay at the shower, and our fights and the rest of the fallout. This is on top of the fact that there is someone out there dogging his every move."

Brian sighed; that weekend getaway was sounding better and better all the time. He couldn't imagine dealing with Mikey on top of all of this would make for a very happy Justin. He wished that they could take more than a weekend, but with Kinnetik gearing up for the summer campaigns and the baby coming in a couple of months, traveling for an extended period was going to be difficult at best.

"He's stressed," Brian said with a small huff. "You know what Justin is like when he's stressed; he internalizes and wants to do everything himself. And this is the one thing he can control right now. I'm not taking that away from him. It's nothing personal."

"Well, when you put it that way," Deb said; and then she sighed.

"Once he's less stress," Brian smirked. "And starts hitting the ' _oh-my-god-we're-really-doing-this'_ phase, I guarantee that you'll have trouble getting rid of him."

"You seem calm about it," Mother Taylor said, arching a brow.

"I kind of went through it a bit with Gus," Brian shrugged. "Granted, it was more of 'oh-my-god-why-did-anyone-think-making-me-a-father-was-a-good-thing matter. But very similar in reaction." Brian paused and turned to them with a smirk. "Now, I'd say that I hate doing this, but…"

"You really don't…" Deb snorted, getting up from the couch she was sitting on.

"Not really," Brian admitted as he stood. "I have a drama princess to deal with and that is going to be tough enough without you hovering over us. I'll have him call when he's stopped sulking."

"You do that, dear," Mother Taylor said as she walked over to him; she paused and pressed a kiss on his cheek and then patted him on the other. "And I'll try to keep the guilt-tripping to a minimum."

"Oh, do feel free to let him have it," Brian disagreed, shaking his head in annoyance. "He's been a complete brat the past two days and fully deserves it."

"Later, kiddo," Deb said, patting him on the cheek as she too walked out of the living room and towards the front door. "Be good to that boy."

"Always am, Ma," Brian said softly; and then his lips twisted into a wry grin. "When he lets me."

"Isn't that the truth?" Deb snorted as she closed the door behind her.

Brian blew out a breath and then loped up the stairs; he needed to change and then grab the studio key so he could beard the lion in his den.


	101. April 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It seems that I need to apologize for the delay in getting a chapter out again; but between work stuff, home stuff and general life stuff, life got unexpectedly busy. On a positive note, I'm hoping to have an update for you tomorrow as well as I have been busting my ass on these two chapters.

**April 1**

Justin shambled downstairs, still half asleep and in desperate need of a cup of coffee; he sniffled, and then grabbed the handkerchief out of his robe and blew his nose. God, he would be so glad when this damned cold, or whatever the fuck it was, made its way out of his system. And then he’d be up to dealing with the world in general again.

Biting his lip, he walked into the kitchen and began making his one cup of coffee, (another thing that he missed desperately and couldn’t wait to reinstate after Sunbeam was born; one cup just wasn’t enough to get him going on some mornings) and scrubbed his hand over his face, and thought back to yesterday as it brewed. He felt kind of bad for being so dismissive of his mom and Deb. He really should have just grinned and bore it for an hour or so, and then sent them on their way with the claim of having a nap.

But he had been stressed by the email that he’d gotten from one of his friends in New York, updating him on the plans for Simon; and that had, in turn, lead him into thinking about Lindsay and the need to deal with her before she could cause too much damage. So, when they’d shown up, he’d snapped; and unfortunately, his mom and Deb had bourn the brunt of his short temper.

Not that he hadn’t been annoyed that they’d shown up without even a call to ask if he was up to receiving visitors; but he could admit, even if it was only to himself, that he’d overreacted to their presence. But seriously; who the fuck just showed up at a person’s house without even calling beforehand? It was one of those rules that his mom had instilled into him at a very young age – you always called ahead so that you didn’t inadvertently walk into a private situation or moment.

In some ways, Deb had been a bad influence on his Mother; she would have never dreamed of going over to someone's house without an invitation before she'd met Deb. But in others, Deb had been the best influence on his Mother, including helping her come to terms with his sexuality when he refused to compromise who he was as a teenager; so, there was that.

He could have handled it better though.

Sighing, Justin shook off the thought, and promised himself to talk to them both later as he pored his eight ounces of coffee into a large mug and then topped it with a generous helping of cream. He hoped that, one day, doing so would fool his mind into thinking that he was drinking more coffee than what he poured. It hadn’t worked yet, but he'd still held onto the hope that it would. He was an optimist that way. 

Taking a large drink, he shuffled over to the refrigerator and looked in, knowing he needed to eat, but not really in the mood for yet more soup. Nor did he want eggs or oatmeal or anything that he actually had to cook himself. Shutting the fridge, Justin grabbed their take-out folder and pulled out the menu for his favorite pizza place, because he was damned if he was going to eat bland food again that day no matter what people said.

He grabbed his phone and was about to start an online order when he heard a light rustling sound coming from the other room. Frowning, Justin set his phone aside and grabbed the meat mallet as he walked out of the kitchen. As far as he'd known, Anna was out in the stables working on a project of some sort, (something she'd told him when he'd made a brief appearance in the kitchen that morning); and Brian should be at work.

So, he had no idea who could be in the den.

Creeping along the hall, Justin held the mallet with a firm grip and walked over towards Brian’s office, where the noises were originating. God, he hoped that he was wrong and it was indeed Brian in there and he'd just neglected to tell Justin that he was staying home; he so didn’t want to deal with someone trashing or going through his office. The resulting queen out if even a single paper was out of place would be enough to give him a migraine.

Justin came up to the door, and leaned against the wall, gathering his courage as his heart hammered against chest; he knew that the likelihood that it was Brian or Anna in the office was much greater than intruder. The house had a state of the art security system and it wasn't likely that anyone could get past it. But that’s what they'd thought of the loft too; and well, everyone knew what had happened there. Swallowing thickly, Justin girded himself up for a confrontation and slowly peeked around the doorjamb; and then he squeaked as another face was thrust into his, leaving him to scramble backwards.

He jumped back and dropped the mallet in surprise, a trill of fear shooting down his spine a split second before he realized that the intruder was indeed his idiot husband, and that he was standing at the door with a confused frown on his face. Bending over, Justin propped his hands on his knees and released a heavy gust of air as he tried to get his heart rate under control.

“What the hell are you doing?” Brian demanded, looking between Justin and the mallet lying on the floor at his feet with bewilderment.

“Jesus fucking Christ, Brian,” Justin cursed, glowering at his husband as he heartbeat slowly returned to normal. “You scared the shit out of me.”

“Right,” Brian said, drawing the word out as he continued look between Justin and the meat tenderizer. “What are you doing?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Justin hissed, sarcasm lacing his voice as he crossed his arms over his chest. “But given the fact that I thought I was _alone_ in the house; you know, as in, _by myself_ , and I suddenly heard noises coming from your office that can only be explained by someone moving around and going through drawers and papers; just _maybe_ I became concerned by that and came to investigate and make sure we didn’t have an intruder?”

“Why the hell didn’t you just leave the house and call the police?” Brian asked incredulously; and then he too frowned and crossed his arms over his chest. “That would have been the smarter thing to do.”

“You should be happy that I didn’t,” Justin huffed; he ran a shaky hand through his hair. “I don’t imagine that the sheriff’s office would have been all that pleased to get called out, only to find that it was my idiot husband, who neglected to tell me he was working from home today, that was my supposed intruder. Yeah, I can see that going over really well.”

“I didn't meant to scare you,” Brian winced. “I thought I’d mentioned it last night.” _Yeah, right;_  Justin was fairly certain that Brian had purposely kept that tidbit to himself just so Justin wouldn't bitch at him. He arched a brow as Brian bent over and picked up his, admittedly, less than impressive looking weapon and held it out between his fingers. “And just what the hell were you planning to do with that? Tenderize them to death?”

“I was going to sneak up on them and hit them over the head with it,” Justin huffed, snatching it out of Brian’s hand. “I can still do that if you feel the need for a demonstration.”

“Not necessary, Sunshine.” Brian held out his hands in front of him in a placating gesture. “I’d just suggest finding the rolling pin next time. It’s a bit more solid and sturdy.”

“By the way,” Justin said, giving his husband the hairy eyeball, his lips curling into a disapproving frown. “Why exactly are you here?”

“Working…” Brian succinctly replied, a bland smile stretching across his lips; he turned on his heel, went back into the study and sat down at his desk; which was covered in papers, with two laptops up and running in opposite corners, and the fax machine was churning away behind him.

“Brian…” Justin huffed; hadn't he just been saying that he'd hoped to find that it was his husband in the office? Well, he’d changed his mind.

“Don’t start, Justin,” Brian said, an impatient look on his face. Justin winced; he knew that look. It was the one that Brian got when he’d been pushed to far; and Justin didn’t blame him – he had been kind of a brat lately. Brian sighed. “I’m working from home today and you’ll just have to get the fuck over it. Stop acting like a drama princess; it’s getting old and we are not the enemy.”

“You’ve missed too much work…” Justin said softly; he worried his bottom lip as he looked at the floor. He groaned as his eyes began to burn for no good reason and he huffed; he was so not going to tear up over this as there was no reason to. God damned fucking hormones were going to be the death of him.

“Justin,” Brian stated softly; and then he sighed again and stood when Justin refused to look at him. He walked around the desk, pulled Justin over to the couch and sat down with Justin standing between his spread legs. “I could never work another day of my life and be absolutely fine. And well you know it. Cynthia and Ted are more than capable of taking care of the day to day shit; I work because I want to and I enjoy it, not because I have to.”

“I just…” Justin said, fiddling with the cuffs of his robe; and then he trailed off because he didn’t really want to say any of it out loud.

“Feel caged, trapped and out of control; and you’ve been lashing out because of it,” Brian filled in with an arched brow; the man really did know him far too well. “I realize that; but I don’t think that others do. And it needs to stop. You’ve been acting like a complete brat; and although she'd never admit to it, Deb was really hurt by your attitude yesterday.”

Justin looked away, a bit shamefaced as he recalled his words and attitude towards his mother and Deb yesterday. Hadn’t he just been chastising his own behavior in the kitchen, before he had come into the study? Brian tugged on Justin’s hand and pulled him around his legs and onto the couch beside him; Justin curled up into Brian with a hum.

“They just wanted to feel they’re a part of your pregnancy; just like any other mother would want to be,” Brian pointed out. “And recently, you’ve been shutting people out whether you mean to or not.” Justin opened his mouth to protest, but then snapped it closed because he really couldn’t refute Brian’s words. “And I get it; they're all a bunch of nosy, busybodies that can be overbearing and overwhelming to deal with, but would it have really been all that difficult to humor them yesterday?”

Justin shrugged; he knew exactly why he couldn’t cope yesterday, but he wasn’t going to bring Lindsay up at the moment. He'd would bring that up later. Something needed to be done about her; and soon now that everything was in the open. Not that it mattered one bit to the topic at hand; even if he was still irate over Lindsay's behavior, he'd had no excuse for taking his anger out on his Mom and Deb. 

“You’re usually the one that lets everything roll off his back; while I’m the one that’s normally snarling at everyone.” Brian huffed; Justin rolled his eyes, but again, couldn't refute the words. “I actually had to play the understanding and responsible one yesterday; and that is so not cool, Sunshine. You know how much I hate all that emotional shit. I think I actually developed hives.”

“Poor baby,” Justin teased, and couldn't resist smirking at his husband’s appalled expression.

“Damn straight,” Brian groused halfheartedly; but he also rolled his lips under in that way that said he was holding back a smile, and was struggling to keep a frown on his face. Justin chuckled as Brian feigned a shudder and said, “Do _not_ make me do all that touchy-feely bullshit again; I actually felt my balls shrivel up and die a little as I was talking to them.”

“Well, we can’t have that,” Justin smirked; and then he sobered. “I can’t promise anything. I love them both to death; I do. But it’s _my_ pregnancy and there are things that I just don’t want to share with anyone but you. They mean well; but having them constantly underfoot stresses me out and I’m already stressed enough as it is.”

“Then talk to them,” Brian said; Justin barely managed to quell a grimace. If only it were that easy. “Tell them how you’re feeling and set some boundaries. But please, for the love of God, do not make me deal with a crying Deb. I will be extremely unhappy if you make me deal with a crying Debbie.”

“I’ll try,” Justin hedged; while he did want to resolve things with his mom and Deb, he didn’t think they would be able to help themselves when it came to interfering. It was in both of their natures. But he could promise to try being a little less grouchy about it. “But, you know as well as I do that boundaries are only seen as a challenge in this family. And I will not put up with them coddling me over something as mundane as the sniffles. I can’t handle that kind of stress with everything else going on.” 

“And you don't have to,” Brian said. “But at the same time, you can’t expect them to understand where you’re coming from if you don’t talk to them.”

Justin hummed noncommittally; frankly, he thought Brian was being far too optimistic of their mothers’ understanding and abilities to rein themselves in. They both, Deb especially, were far to used to getting their ways, and he had a feeling that if he gave them an inch, they'd take a whole fucking football field with it. And when had he turned into the pessimistic one? He internally shook his head and marveled at the role swap; just how was this his life?

“And speaking of stressful situations,” Brian said; Justin raised his brows at the less than smooth conversational transition. Usually Brian eased into these kinds of talks with a bit more grace than that. And why did this lack of grace make his stomach clench? "That actually brings me to something that we need to talk about; well, two things we need to talk about actually.”

“Fuck; I knew things were going too well,” Justin muttered, letting his head fall back against the couch as he prayed for strength. “What now?”

“First,” Brian said, running his fingers through Justin’s hair; it was a soothing gesture meant to make Justin relax and it worked like a charm. “I got a call from Tak yesterday. He wanted to set up an appointment to talk to us both to discuss a break in the case. I told him that we could meet with him on Thursday as I didn’t see anything on your calendar; but if you have plans, let me know and I’ll reschedule it.”

“I did, but it wasn’t anything important,” Justin said thoughtfully; he sunk into Brian's side as the tension drained away. “I was just planning to drop by the gallery and look things over; maybe take Sydney to lunch to discuss the show and what not. We didn’t set up an appointment though, so I can do it another time. Did Tak tell you what he wanted to talk about?”

“Not in so many words,” Brian said; he then paused as if debating, or maybe replaying, something in his head. “He did the whole, ‘ _I can’t divulge it over the phone_ ’ routine. But, I have a feeling that they managed to track Blaine down.”

“What makes you say that?” Justin asked, turning to look up into his husband’s face.

“Well, first,” Brian said, ticking it off on a finger. “I asked point blank if they had caught up to him. He said that he couldn’t confirm or deny it, but... the way that he said it that makes me believe that they do have him in custody.”

“Well, that’s good, isn’t it?” Justin asked, hope filling him that this would soon be over; he really hated the thought that the assholes that had been fucking with his life were still out there, watching and waiting.

“As long as he actually has useful information to impart,” Brian sighed; and sensing Justin’s unease, as he always did, he leaned down and pressed a kiss against Justin’s temple. “And is actually willing to talk about it; then yes, it’s a very good thing. But we’ll have to wait and see. Judging by Tak’s reactions, however; it did sound as if Blaine was cooperating; if it is indeed him.”

“God, I hope so,” Justin sighed, digging his fingers into his eyes to ease the pressure building behind them. “That would be a huge weight lifted from my shoulders since the stalker is the biggest of my concerns, _and_  this situation is causing the most stress in our life, right now.”

“I’ll be happy when that asshole is behind bars too,” Brian said in a soft tone, his nose and mouth buried in Justin’s hair. “I want you safe; and I want you around for a long time.”

Justin’s breath hitched at the familiar words; and he couldn’t help remembering the first time that he’d ever heard those words as an inexperienced twat, trying to convince Brian to fuck him raw despite their very open relationship and multiple sex partners. God, he’d been such an idiot back then. Luckily, he’d smartened up since then; but the lesson and the words had stuck with him. If only he had been paying better attention and had heard the silent ‘I love you’ in them; things might have turned out a bit differently.

Not that he was unhappy in any way with how his life had turned out; but there might have been a few less bumps in the road had he’d taken those words a bit more to heart.

“So, you mentioned that there were _two_ things that you wanted to talk about; what is the second?” Justin prompted; he was reluctant to break the peaceful moment, but also sensed that they needed to deal with whatever was eating at Brian before they could return to their day.

Well, as quiet as April the first can ever be; which reminded him, he still needed to send that prank email to their friends and family. It would serve them right after all the fuss they made over fucking baby names.

Justin looked up when Brian just grunted in displeasure, but remained otherwise silent; he studied the pained grimace on his husband’s face and his heart sank into his stomach. Well, fuck.

“I’m not going to like this, am I?” Justin grumbled, startling Brian out of his reverie.

“No,” Brian conceded, he rolled his lips under as he studied Justin and then continued with a smile. “But, on a positive note; if you agree to my plan, it won’t be our problem.”

“Oh, God,” Justin groaned, wondering what the fuck had Michael or Lindsay had done now; those were the only two that could put that look on Brian’s face. Well, outside Brian's mother; but Justin had a feeling that it wasn’t her. Of course, that might have had something to do with the prank Justin had played on her after she made that scene at Brian's office. Served her right; next time she'd mind her own fucking business. “Just rip the Band-Aid off and tell me.”

“Michael will be home this weekend,” Brian said, cringing a little at the look on Justin’s face; and Justin really tried not to smirk (and failed) at his reaction, as he was sure he was wearing his ‘ _fucked off beyond all care and ready to take someone the fuck down_ ’ look, as Brian dubbed it.

“Why?” Justin asked, trying to keep his voice neutral, but he could definitely hear his irritation leaking through. “I thought Ben said that he’d keep him contained to Seattle?”

“Jenny told him that if he wanted to celebrate her birthday this year; that he would have to do it this weekend as she didn’t want him showing up at her party and ruining things." Brian paused. "Well, not in those words exactly, but that was the gist. She didn’t want him coming here and causing problems, since she’s having the party here.”

“Fuck,” Justin cursed under his breath; now he was stuck between a rock and a hard place. On the one hand, he wanted to throw a fit that the man that had him hospitalized was going to be back and causing potential issues; but on the other hand, it was for his Jenny girl and he do anything for her.

“Like I said - not our problem,” Brian said with a shrug.

“How is this not our problem, Brian?” Justin hissed, running his hand roughly through his hair. “You know as well as I do; that as soon he lands, he’s going to come over to the house and whine about how unfair you’re being towards him. And then, I might just have to kill him this time.”

“You can’t kill him if we’re not here,” Brian said in a reasonable tone.

That had Justin pausing and looking sharply at his husband, a suspicious frown on his face. Brian just smiled blandly, as if he knew something Justin didn’t.

“Explain,” he demanded, poking Brian in the side when he just smirked in reply.

“Well,” Brian drawled, purposely drawing the word out just to be annoying; Justin glowered at his husband. “I thought we could go visit Daphne, Liam and Kian. Michael can’t become a problem if we’re not around for him to cause said problems.”

“Visit Daphne...?” Justin said slowly, a small smile quirking on his lips; he love the idea of visiting with his best friend and her family.

“Plus, we haven’t been to New York in a while,” Brian said with a weird undertone that had Justin looking up again in suspicion.

“No we haven’t,” Justin said slowly, a thought forming in his head at Brian’s sudden eagerness to head off to New York; but he couldn’t be sure that he was right, so he remained silent.

“So it would be an opportune time for us to go,” Brian said, a bit too cheerfully for Justin’s comfort. The man was definitely up to something.

“Right,” Justin said, a hint of doubt creeping into his voice as he continued to stare at a serene looking Brian. He didn’t buy this act for one moment.

“What?” his husband asked, all faux innocence; Justin snorted.

“You aren’t fooling me at all, Brian,” Justin said; alarm flashed across Brian’s face. Ah ha! Got you. But instead of voicing his true thoughts, he lightly teased his uncomfortable husband. “You just want to go shopping while we're there.”

No need to alarm his husband just yet by letting him know that Justin was on to him; he'd just clam up at this rate. And as his Grandmother Cunningham had always said, there was more than one way to skin a cat.

“Well, now that you mention it,” Brian said, relaxing minutely as he tucked his tongue into his cheek. “ _And_ since we’re there…”

“I am _not_ going shopping with you, Brian,” Justin huffed, his feet already throbbing in sympathy at the thought of a Brian Taylor-Kinney shopping spree. “I’d never survive.”

“Of course not,” Brian scoffed. “Like I would take you with me; I actually want to enjoy the day. Give me some credit, Sunshine. You’d stay with Daphne while I took Liam with me. At least, _he_ understands the sanctity that is Armani Fifth Avenue.”

Nope, nothing suspicious about that at all.

“Artist who routinely destroys his clothing, Brian,” Justin said as he pointed at himself. “Armani does me no good in my work environment.” He paused and thought about it. On the one hand, Brian was being kind of shady about part of his reasons for going to New York; but on the other, it was Daphne time. “It would be nice to see Daphne and the others.”

“It would,” Brian agreed as a little more tension slipped from his body; but Justin was just biding his time. He knew Brian far too well; and being in New York would put him far too close to a certain someone that Brian had been dying to put in his place for far too many years. “You don’t get to spend as much time with her now that they are based in New York.”

“It would figure that she’d move there just as I was getting ready to return home,” Justin mused, his mind already turning to all the things he wanted to do when they got there; and how to keep Brian from enacting his ill-thought revenge. “Could you imagine the amount of fun that the both of us could’ve had taking on New York together.”

“Actually,” Brian said, his tone dry as the Sahara. “I’m imaging the number of times I would have been called to bail you guys out. My pocketbook thanks you for not taking on New York together.”

“We’re not that bad,” Justin protested weakly; and then slapped Brian on the arm when he just snorted again in response.

“Oh, yes you are,” Brian disagreed; and then he carefully disengaged from Justin and walked over to his desk. “So, I’ll start booking flights and what not. I figured we’d just stay at the loft since it’s unoccupied at the moment.”

“Sounds good,” Justin said a bit absently; he stretched out on the couch and laid down. Fuck, but he was so fucking tired, all the fucking time, these days. He propped himself on some pillows and sent a shrewd look his husband’s direction. “Plus, being there will give me the chance to touch base with some of my friends and contacts about the Simon thing.”

“Yeah, Simon…” Brian muttered, his face darkening; and bingo, we have a winner! Justin had a feeling that Brian had been scheming something up in regards to Simon. And usually, Justin would be all for Brian handing someone their ass; but in this case, they needed to tread lightly. The man still had far too much influence and power to mess with him just yet; but soon.

“Leave him alone, Brian,” Justin warned as he got comfortable; he really could do with a nap right about now. “I would like nothing better than to punch the asshole myself; but let’s give the plan a chance to work. Trust me; the blow to his prestige and pocketbook will hurt far worse than a punch to the face, which would heal in the matter of days. Don’t give him a reason to sue you.”

“He deserves it, Sunshine,” Brian spat with a mutinous expression on his face.

“And I agree.” Justin nodded. “But he is a slimy, little weasel that will try to pull you down with him if you give into the urge. If we do it this way, there is nothing he can do. After all, he can’t sue me just because I choose not show my art at or talk to any of his cronies.”

“I know,” Brian said as he deflated; although he still sounded disgruntled that he wasn’t going to get the chance to deal with Simon on this trip. “There has to me something that would prove…”

“Follow the money trail?” Justin suggested with a lethargic shrug. “There has to be something that we can pin on him.”

“Hmmm…” Brian hummed, a calculating glint in his eyes as he stared at the computer screen. “Theodore has been getting antsy; maybe I’ll have him look into a few things. At the very least, he’ll know who to go to if he can’t do it.”

“Works for me,” Justin said, and then yawned; this wasn’t an ideal place to nap as he didn’t have his body pillow, but maybe he could get away with it for an hour or so. He really didn’t want to move. “But no confrontations; at least none that are instigated on our parts. We don’t need him claiming harassment.”

“Fine,” Brian huffed, his lips compressed into a thin line. “But if we run into him, and he gets in my face; I make no guarantees.”

“I’d expect nothing less of you,” Justin murmured; his lids grew heavy and slowly slid shut as a warm lethargy washed over him. “But, really; if we’re going, I just want to relax. I don't want to deal with assholes on this trip, as the whole point is to get away from one.”

“Then relax we will,” Brian promised; Justin smiled, and that was the last thing he heard as he slid into a sound sleep; although, he was certain that he felt the soft brush of lips on his forehead just before he went fully under.

**… … … … …**

Justin slowly awakened, and reluctantly at that if he was at all honest about it; he was warm and snug, and wanted to do nothing more than to bury back down in the cashmere blanket covering him. He would have too if it weren’t for the fact that his back was aching from laying on it for too long, and that he _really_ needed to pee. Plus, he was starving as he'd never gotten around to ordering his pizza. Damn Brian for distracting him.

And not even in the fun way.

Stretching, Justin carefully rolled over and sat up, trying to work the kinks out of his neck and back. This was exactly why he didn’t like falling asleep anywhere other than his bed or on the futon in the studio these days. It was just too fucking uncomfortable and he always woke up a dozen times or more due to one ache or another.

Fuck; he’ll be so glad when this is all over. Especially if what his mother said was true, and it was just going to get worse from here on out; he was so not looking forward to the last month. It sounded like a real bitch.

Grimacing, Justin debated between running to the bathroom now and then ordering food; or taking care of food first and then running to the bathroom. Standing by Brian’s now empty desk in indecision, (because trust him; at this point of his pregnancy, it was a legitimate debate as to which was the greater need), and then ambled over to the desk to place his order since it shouldn’t take that long. He'd had his favorites saved online in his profile, along with all his other details. All he had to do was click a few buttons and viola - pizza!

Quickly making his way through the order, Justin sent it off and then logged onto Google mail and clicked on the order confirmation email; he smiled when it said that the pizza would be delivered in thirty minutes. Good, he was fucking starving. Squirming in his seat, Justin paused as he went to click out of the web browser; should he? Yes, he could spare a couple of more minutes. He clicked on drafts and decided to read through the email he was planning on sending to everyone today.

Might as well kill two birds with one stone.

Clicking on the draft that he'd started the night before, Justin gave it a quick review, snickering as he made a few slight adjustments here and there. He wished he could see their faces when they got it.

 

 **_From:_ ** _Justin Taylor-Kinney_

 **_To:_ ** _ Family All; The Gang_

 **_Cc:_ ** _Brian Taylor-Kinney (work); Brian Taylor-Kinney (personal)_

**_Subject:_ ** _Baby Name Decided!_

_Yes, you read that right! We have finally decided on a name for Sunbeam and wanted all of our loved ones to know about it first! You know, since you all have expressed a mild interest (read have become a never-ending pain in my ass about it) in the name in the hopes of deciphering the gender (which really, you should know that’s not going to happen by now as we’ve told you multiple times that we like gender- **neutral** names)._

_But, before we get to the heart of this email, I did want to take this opportunity to thank each, and every, one of you for your name suggestions over the past few months. You have no idea just how invaluable your input has been when it came to selecting a name for Sunbeam (or not selecting a name for that matter; looking at you Mel)._

_We did get all of your lists by the way, and did indeed look through all of them; minus one or two that accidentally got shredded, and the emails that carried them, then somehow  got mysteriously deleted forever. How that happened, I have no idea; I suppose it will just have to remain a mystery. So sadly, we were unable to consider those names; what a shame._

_But for the rest of you – well, there are no words that could ever describe my reaction to your thoughtfulness. I can see that some of you really took the time (and really, some of you have way too much fucking time on your hands; looking at you Daphne) to select names that would work for our little Sunbeam. So, I thank you all from the bottom of my heart for the sheer joy (and often hilarity) that you have imparted on me with your choices._

_Now, onto the true purpose of this email; as I said, with your illustrious (and not-so-illustrious) help; we have finally come up with the perfect name for Sunbeam. And let me tell you, with so **many** names to choose from, it was a difficult task. So difficult, in fact; that we couldn't decide on just one name. So, we decided to take one from each of your lists!_

_We know it’s a little unconventional; and well maybe even a little cruel to the poor tyke, but at least Sunbeam will never run out of potential nicknames. Plus, we are far from conventional people and we just know our Sunbeam will follow suit._

_Thus, the child known as Sunbeam will now be known as:_

**_Echo Riley Lyric Jean Cedar Jordan Spencer McKenzie Dahlia Shane Kiley Ronan Taylor-Kinney_ **

_We know it’s a mouthful, but Sunbeam's part Kinney and they’re all divas anyways; and we needed a name suited to carry that diva gene. We’re sure that Sunbeam will eventually grow into it and carry it with all the aplomb of a Taylor-Kinney!_

_Now with that news imparted, I just have one more thing to tell you…_

_._

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_Keep Scrolling…_

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_Keep Scrolling…_

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_Keep Scrolling…_

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_Keep Scrolling…_

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**_April Fools!_ **

_._

_._

_What? Did you honestly think I’d do that to my child? Kinney diva gene or not, I’d rather not have my child trying to smother me in my sleep after they'd tried printing their full name while learning to write it in school. You’ll just have to wait until the day that Sunbeam is born to find out what the real name will be!_

_~ Justin_

 

Justin grinned and then hit send, giggling the entire time at the reactions that email was going to receive. But, they'd all deserved it after some of those lists. Closing down his email, Justin stood and stretched; and then he grimaced as Sunbeam decided just at that moment to start tap-dancing on his bladder. Hurrying from the room, he rubbed hand over his stomach in the hopes of calming the little demon before he embarrassed himself, grumbling under his breath the entire way to the bathroom.

“I really, really can’t wait for this to be over.”

**… … … … …**

 Justin twitched at another shadow, his nerves fried and hair standing on end as he looked around, expecting something to jump out at him at any time. And then, when nothing came for the two dozenth time, he sighed and scrubbed his hand over his face in exasperation. Enough was enough. He needed to end his misery like right the fuck now before he went into early labor due to shot nerves.

He supposed that he should go back a bit in time to earlier that day for his panic to make any sense; after he'd sent off the prank email, and went to the bathroom – and thank fuck he’d made it in time – Justin had realized that he'd sort of fucked up. As usual, when emailing the family, he’d automatically sent a copy of it off to Brian. Which, in and of itself, wasn’t a problem. After all, it wasn’t like he was hiding his minor prank from his husband.

The problem stemmed from the fact that just hadn't told Brian about the prank because he didn't want to bring attention to the fact that it was April Fool's Day. And since Brian had more than enough reason to prank him given the fact that he still hadn’t exacted his full revenge on Justin for the triplets joke, that email would likely serve as a reminder to Brian that his vengeance was still pending. And _that_  thought was what had left Justin decidedly twitchy and on edge for the rest of that day, wondering if his husband was going to use this day as a free pass to get even; especially as Brian kept looking at him funny.

It had gotten so bad, that he was now jumping at shadows and he’d had enough; which was why he needed to know what Brian’s looks had meant like right the fuck now before he jumped out of his skin, literally.

Striding into the bedroom, Justin walked over to where Brian was curled up in a chair reading a book and slammed his hands down on the side table. Brian jumped and looked up at Justin with wide, surprised eyes, which quickly morphed into concern when he noted Justin’s wild expression. But Justin wasn’t fooled in the least bit.

“Alright, I’ve had enough of this!” Justin hissed, glaring at the other man for putting him in this position. “Just do it already!”

Brian's mouth dropped open and stared at Justin with no little amount of confusion; Justin briefly wondered if he had gotten it all wrong, but there was no turning back now as Brian would just bug him if he didn't see it through.

“Okay?” Brian hesitantly said with one brow arched. Justin stood up, surprised that Brian had acquiesced so easily; he had expected a coy denial, or for Brian to drag things out, just to torture Justin further. But then again, he'd just seemed surprised at Justin’s demand.

“Go ahead and hit me with your best shot, Brian Taylor-Kinney,” Justin hissed defiantly and jutted his chin forward.

And, yes; he realized that he was acting irrationally, but he _had_ to know what those looks had meant. Brian pursed his lips and furrowed his brow.

“Um…” Brian hedged, staring at Justin as if he’d spouted a second head. “There is one small problem with that, Sunshine.”

“What!?” Justin huffed in frustration; now this was more like the reaction he’d been expecting. “What could possibly be the problem now?”

“I have no idea what I’m supposed to be doing?” Brian said, the end lilting up into a question. He shook his head in bewilderment; and Justin realized then, that maybe, just maybe, he might have miscalculated things. But he wasn’t going to back down now that it was out there. “You wanna clue me in on what you’re expecting as I don’t want to disappoint you?”

“The joke!” Justin insisted, his arms crossed over his chest.

Brian shook his head again and managed to look both concerned at Justin’s raving, and confused by it at the same time.

“April Fool’s Day!?” Justin exclaimed, gesticulating wildly with his hands,

Brian stared at Justin incredulously, mouthing the words over and over to himself; and then wild grin spread over his face and he doubled over laughing. Justin huffed as Brian pressed a hand to his face, his shoulders convulsing as deep belly laughs exploded out of his mouth, and continued on for several minutes before Brian finally managed to control them enough to speak.

“Is that why you’ve been twitchy all day?” Brian managed to gasp out between laughs, his eyes dancing with mirth. “I’ve been trying to figure out why you’ve been jumping at shadows all day; but never in a million years would I suspect this was the cause.”

“Yes!” Justin huffed, feeling a bit foolish now.

“Sorry to disappoint you, Sunshine,” Brian said between snickers. “But I completely forgot the date; I have nothing." Justin's cheeks heated as Brian tucked his tongue into his cheek. "Besides, why would I ever prank you on a day when you’d be expecting it? That would completely defeat the purpose.”

“You seriously don’t have a prank planned?” Justin asked with incredulity.

“Nope,” Brian smirked. “But in a way, by not having one, I unintentionally got you just as good as if I had pranked you.”

“I…” Justin said, and then snapped his mouth shut as Brian arched a brow.

“Yes, Sunshine?” Brian prompted, his eyes still dancing with laughter as he leaned down and picked up his book. “You what?”

“I’m going to my studio,” Justin huffed, feeling extremely foolish over the whole thing; he had been so certain that those looks meant that Brian had been plotting something. He scowled at Brian’s amused look and stormed out the door, with Brian’s voice echoing down the hall behind him.

“You do that, dear; let me know when you’re done sulking and then I’ll have Anna start dinner.”

Justin huffed again as laughter spilled out of their bedroom doorway; he stomped into his studio and slammed the door, muting his husband's laughter and threw himself onto the futon, his face on fire. 

Fuck; he was never going to live this down.


	102. April 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First, Happy Belated Mother's Day to all the moms out there. :) Second, I tried to get this out soon, but RL is still cutting into my writing time; which is also why I haven't had the time to respond to reviews. So, let me take this time to say I appreciate all of your comments and I will address them once things slow down again. And I hope this entry makes up for the delay in posting.

**April 2**

Brian sat down on the couch in the media room, not paying any mind to Justin, who was fiddling with something by the TV. He piled up a few pillows against the arm and leaned back, his eyes immediately gravitating to the delicious ass that was proudly on display as Justin bent over to press a few buttons. Still the finest ass in Pittsburgh; he was the luckiest man in the world to have such an intelligent and beautiful partner.

Dragging his eyes away from Justin's ass, he watched his husband set up the TV, and frowned when a blank black background flickered on the screen. When Justin had suggested dinner and a movie that night, he had assumed that the twat was going to drag him out on a date. His husband occasionally got one of those bees in his bonnet and wanted the full treatment; Brian for his part hadn't gotten over his sheer loathing for the ritual, but it still wasn't his favorite thing to do.

But he tolerated it because he loved Justin, and it made him happy; fuck, the things he did for this man. It was ridiculous just how firmly he'd wrapped Brian around his finger.

So, he was surprised that when he got home, Justin was still dressed in a t-shirt, hoodie and his yoga pants. He'd smiled and greeted Brian with a deep kiss and then told him to go get comfortable as, instead of going out for dinner and a movie, he thought that they'd have dinner here and then watch something they hadn't seen before in the media room. Brian was confused by the change in plans, but he wasn't going to complain; he would much rather spend the evening in with Justin than sit in some movie theater, trying to watch a movie, while teenagers made out all around them.

Looking up, he smiled as Justin finally made his way over to the couch; he clambered up and scooted between Brian's legs, leaning his back against Brain's chest and his head against his shoulder. Justin squirmed and wiggled, piquing his dick's interest in the process (the little brat), until finally he was comfortable; and then he set down a book and a small device onto the footrest by his hand.

"What's that?" Brian asked, trying to get a better look at it; but Justin's hand was covering it, and blocking his view.

"Remote mouse," Justin said as he moved it around on the book, waking up the screen on the TV. Brian felt a trickle of dread run down his spine.

"A remote mouse…" Brian reiterated, an alarm blaring in his head; especially when Justin looked over his shoulder with a bright and mischievous smile. "For what…"

"It's out favorite time of the week," Justin intoned brightly, that spark of mischief growing as comprehension dawned and Brian stared at his husband in horror.

"Oh, no," Brian groaned; he dropped his head against the arm of the couch, and added a couple of thumps for good measure. He should have known that there was a reason that Justin hadn't wanted to go out this evening; and fool that he was, he fell right into his trap. The sneaky, little twat.

"Oh, yes," Justin said, clapping his hands happily that he'd gotten one over on Brian; and that just confirmed his initial dread.

"Justin…" Brian whined; yes, he fully admits that he was whining; but there was only so much of this one could tolerate before they reverted to Mikey-mode.

"Must you whine every time we do this?" Justin huffed, even as he started navigating to the website that Brian immediately recognized and had come to dread.

"Yes," Brian grumbled; but he knew there was no getting out of it, so he might as well just resign himself to his fate since the clever little devil had him cornered.

"The pout, while adorable, isn't going to work on me," Justin said far too gleefully for Brian's comfort. "Let's get this done."

Brian sighed and once again resigned himself to the inevitable as his favorite Baby Guru Edith flashed on the screen with a title that said Chapter Four: Medical Procedures During Labor and Delivery. Why Justin insisted on watching these, frankly, useless videos, he had no idea; but he wished that the twat would leave him out of it. Not that _that_ was ever likely to happen; Justin seemed to derive far to much amusement out of watching Brian's reactions to said videos.

"Why exactly are we watching these again?" Brian huffed, rolling his eyes when he was met with Justin's very serene smile.

"Because I live to torture you?" Justin quipped, a smirk firmly in place.

"Well, at least you're honest about it," Brian snorted. "There are so many more important things that I can think of doing with my evening. Like watching paint peel."

"And here I thought that I might offer to payback one of my IOUs tonight," Justin said, his smile taking on a sly edge; Brian instantly perked up, in more ways than one, at the sight of it and the little remote that he pulled out of his pocket. "But if you have more pressing things to do, I suppose that I can just go to bed early and take care of myself."

"Is that…?" Brian trailed off and squirmed as he recognized it; his dick instantly hard and leaking as he stared at his husband in disbelief. Suddenly, life wasn't all that bad.

"The remote to that vibrating butt plug you love so much?" Justin purred as he waved it over his head. "Why yes it is; I wonder how that got here…"

"And you're wearing…?" Brian asked, swallowing thickly as he continued to stare down into lust-filled blue eyes; fuck, but Justin was hot when he got like this.

"Maybe?" Justin said in a sing-song tone; he stared up at Brian through his lashes. "Why don't you stick your hand down there and find out?"

"O _r_ , I can just grab that and find out for myself," Brian said as he lunged for the remote, only for it to be snatched away and shoved into Justin's pocket.

"You could, but you won't," Justin huffed, a calculating gleam in his eyes. "This is your incentive."

Brian pursed his lips thoughtfully; he could easily pin his husband down and take the remote away from him. Justin was in no position to resist him. But Brian also couldn't help being curious as to where the twat was going with his little game, and was in the mood to indulge his brat. Besides, Justin's games _always_ led fun places.

"For?" Brian asked, wondering at the details of this particular venture.

"Watching the videos, of course," Justin said with a smirk. And, of course; he should have known that was going to be part of the conditions.

"Terms?" Brian arched a brow, only the smallest hint of trepidation running through him.

"You watch all the videos…" Justin started, but Brian cut him off when a horrific thought came to mind; because no way in hell would he last through this if it was a condition.

"Please tell me that you aren't going to tell me to take them seriously?" Brian pleaded, his unease growing when Justin tapped his lips thoughtfully with one finger and let the moment draw out. "Because I can't do that, Sunshine."

"No, even I'm not that optimistic," Justin snorted; and then he laughed outright when Brian sighed and shuddered in relief. "Just that you must watch them _all_ without trying to get out of it, or employing any delaying or distraction tactics."

"Same rules and same safe word?" Brian asked, pointing to the remote still buried in Justin's pocket so that his husband was clear on his meaning.

"Same rules and safe word." Justin nodded.

"Deal!" Brian smirked, rubbing his hands together theatrically as Justin snickered at his gleeful expression. "Your ass is so mine tonight, Sunshine."

"You say that like you're expecting me to complain," Justin purred, his lids sliding half mast as he gave Brian a thorough once over before turning and pressing the play button.

**Monitoring Your Baby During Labor**

"Ah, Edith," Brian intoned, making Justin roll his eyes. "My favorite Baby Guru and Owner-of Far-Too-Many-Bland-Jackets-than-One-Person-Needs; please, impart your wisdom upon your humble and devoted, but oh-so-unseasoned disciples…"

"Vocabulary must not be your strong suit if you think the word humble applies to you in any way." Justin stated dryly, snickering when Brian pinched him in the side.

"Are you calling me less than modest, Sunshine?" Brian complained in mock outrage. "I think I should be offended."

"I'm not even going to dignify that with a response," Justin snorted, batting Brian's hand away s that he could focus on the video; Brian sighed again and settled down to be bored off his ass for another evening.

How many more of these damned classes were there?

_"Fetal monitoring is one of the most common interventions," Edith of the boring and bland beige jacket said with a small smile. "And almost all women are monitored at some point during labor to make sure that baby's heart rate falls into normal parameters. This allows the doctors a timely reaction if the baby's heart rate becomes alarmingly fast or slow and they fall into distress…"_

"Wow," Brian snarked, his tongue tucked into his cheek. "I feel as if my knowledge expands with every viewing of these videos; I don't know what I ever would have done with my life if I had never been exposed to Edith's wise and thoughtful council."

"You just can't help yourself, can you?" Justin huffed; and Brian could tell that he was rolling his eyes just by his body language alone.

"As I may have pointed out a time or two, Sunshine," Brian snorted, even as he pressed a kiss to the side of Justin's head. "I have yet to really see anything that common fucking sense wouldn't tell a person. I'm still waiting to be wowed here."

"Only a time or two?" Justin snorted, looking over his shoulder with a single brow raised.

"I figured tacking the thousand onto those numbers would be redundant," Brian said with a bland smile, and then smirked when Justin chuckled. "Why waste my breath on something that you've bitched about every week?"

Justin just shook his head and turned back to the video.

_"If your caregiver needs a more accurate reading, he or she might use an internal monitor, which is inserted through the cervix and attached to the baby's scalp," Edith said, pointing in the vague direction of a drawing demonstrating just that._

"Well, that sounds pleasant," Brian deadpanned, grimacing at the demonstration.

"So, glad that I don't have to deal with that," Justin huffed in agreement.

"You know, you would think that would have updated these things to take the male anatomy in," Brian complained as the words of the video went in one ear and out the other. He just didn't see the point in retaining any of it.

"I guess they figured that men were less likely to watch?" Justin said with a lazy shrug. "Or maybe it's still rare enough that they didn't feel comfortable making one geared towards male carriers?"

"No excuses, Sunshine," Brian said, and then turned back to his doom. And this was only the first video of the night; how was he going to make it through the next five?

_"Electronic monitoring doesn't hurt, but it can limit your ability to get up and move around, whether it be continuous or intermittent monitoring. To rectify this, some hospitals do have wireless monitoring, and even waterproof devices that can be used in the bath or shower; so, you might want to ask your health provider if those are options."_

"Huh," Justin hummed. "I never even thought to ask about that."

"Well, it _is_ kind of a pointless question in your case," Brian pointed out. "Given that you're having a c-section, you'll need continuous monitoring anyways and are likely to be bed-ridden the entire time due to the spinal block."

"Well, yeah," Justin agreed with another little shrug. "I know that _now_ ; I just meant that before, when my blood pressure wasn't an issue, I didn't even think to ask about the types of monitoring available."

"They didn't mention it either," Brian said. "It may mean that they don't have it available."

"Oh, well," Justin conceded with a small frown. "I suppose it doesn't really matter anymore; at least for this pregnancy. I t just would have been nice to have been informed of my choices when we took that tour. I'll have to ask Liz about it later."

"Well, you could ask for the future," Brian said, rolling his lips under. "After all, I know you wanted to have one or two more after Sunbeam."

"Uh, you do know that I'll likely have to have a c-section for any subsequent pregnancies, right?" Justin asked, looking at Brian over his shoulder.

"You will?" Brian asked, frowning in confusion when Justin nodded; he could have sworn that he had read somewhere that it was fine to have a natural birth after a c-section.

"Yeah," Justin said as the video came to a halt. "Once they have had one cesarean, most carriers will likely need a c-section for any other births after that because a natural birth can cause medical issues."

"I did not know that," Brian said, wondering why he had thought otherwise.

"I read up on it in an article," Justin said as he navigated to the next episode button. "It will depend on the kind of incision made; if Liz does a vertical incision, a natural birth is risky because the contractions could cause a uterine rupture. If she does a transverse, or horizontal, incision, the likelihood of having a safe natural birth is greater; but even then only 60 to 80 percent are successful in having a safe natural birth. I don't like those odds and would rather not risk it."

"I concur," Brian nodded and then settled back for mindless video number two.

**How and Why Labor is Induced**

_"If your labor is induced," Edith stated with a bland smile. "It means that your caregiver will use medication or other techniques to kick-start the process…"_

Brian pinched the bridge of his nose and viciously bit his tongue on the question he was dying to ask yet again – what was the fucking point to them watching this shit. But he didn't; he'd managed to restrain himself in time because like hell was he missing out on three hours of tormenting Justin time. And speaking of the little twat.

Justin was turned around, watching him, his whole body convulsing with laughter at the look Brian was certain was etched onto his face. But he had never promised not to show his disdain for this process; only that he wouldn't hider the viewing or use any distraction techniques to put a halt to said videos.

"I hope you appreciate the amount of self-control that I'm exerting by not saying what I really think about this one," Brian huffed, glaring at his snickering husband.

"You're the model of self-restraint," Justin intoned piously, his eyes wide and guileless in his faux innocence. "And worthy of emulation."

"There is no need to be mocking, Sunshine," Brian groused, eyeing his husband with no little amount of irritation.

"On the contrary," Justin disagreed with a wild grin. "There is every need,"

"Laugh while you can twat," Brian taunted the brat he called his husband. "Just remember that at the end of this evening, you _will_ be at my mercy and you might not be laughing then."

Justin gave an unconcerned shrug; much to Brian's further annoyance. Oh, he couldn't wait to make the little twat eat his words and rue his attitude. Scrubbing his hand over his face, Brian turned back to the video with a pained sigh.

_"You might be induced for a variety of reasons including, but not limited to: you've significantly gone past your due date, it's been twelve to twenty-four hours since your water broke, your placenta doesn't seem to be working properly, you have low amniotic fluid, you've been diagnosed with pre-eclampsia or the baby or your health is at risk."_

"I don't know about you," Brian said with a frown. "But those last two seem to be reasons not to induce and to simply get your ass into the operating theater for a c-section."

"I suppose it would all depend on the condition and how high your blood pressure is at the time?" Justin said, his tone lilting at the end, making it more of a question than a statement. "But yes, I agree; the thought of them putting that kind of strain on my already strained body would make me uneasy. I think at that point I would demand a c-section just to be on the safe side."

_"Today, more than one in five carriers in the United States have their labor induced; an increase of more than double the amount from just twenty years ago…"_

"That's a disturbing number," Justin shuddered, his frown deepening.

Brian couldn't help agreeing and then grimacing when she began prattling on about the different methods of inducing labor, each one sounding worse than the one before – inserting medicine into the birth canal, giving an IV infusion of Pitocin (the synthetic form of oxytocin), putting pressure on the cervix with a small, water-filled balloon, stripping or sweeping the membranes (using a finger to separate the amniotic sac from the lower part of the uterus), and breaking the amniotic sac with a small, hooked tool.

"Are you sure that these are actually birth classes for medical procedures?" Brian asked, squirming a little at the visual that last method had induced. "You didn't accidentally stumble onto a 'how to torture your husband 101' tutorial did you?"

"You'll never know," Justin drawled in a secretive tone; Brian arched a brow, but Justin only smiled with a hint of menace around the edges.

"I don't know what's more terrifying," Brian said in a disturbed tone. "Edith's fashion choices or the way you looked at me as you were saying that; should I be worried?"

"I'd sleep with one eye open if I were you," Justin advised, his eyes filled with laughter.

"Oh, you're just racking up the points tonight, Sonny Boy," Brian huffed, poking his husband in the sides and sending him squirming.

"I'll attempt to feel some concern about that later," Justin said airily, as he dodged Brian's fingers for a second time. "Much later."

"Keep them coming, brat," Brian warned him; but Justin just dismissed him with a small wave of his hand. "I'm so going to enjoy this."

_"Due to medicinal intervention," Edith finished off, the uplifting music swelling in the background, and then the first of many 'real moms' popped on the screen. "You'll need continuous fetal monitoring as some induction methods, like Petocin, can occasionally make the contractions come on to hard and too fast, stressing you and the baby._

"Oh look!" Brian exclaimed in mock excitement; Justin rolled his eyes. "More 'real' mom testimonials so that we can relate to people in our situation and…oh, wait…"

"You're such an ass," Justin snorted even as he was reaching for the remote mouse to cue up the next video.

"And, yet you keep subjecting me and yourself to these insipid videos," Brian snarked. "Truthfully, I'm beginning to think you have a latent masochistic side…or was that sadistic? I can never tell these days."

**Having a C-Section**

"Finally, something of use," Brian huffed as the title flashed across the screen. "And it only took four classes and how many videos…?"

"Are you saying that you haven't enjoyed our little bonding moments with Edith?" Justin said in a honeyed tone; and then the little shit had the nerve to flutter his lashes at him.

"I'm not even going to dignify that with a response," Brian said, rolling his eyes at his husband's simpering. Justin just grinned and looked away.

"What?" Justin mocked, shaking his head in despair as Edith finally made her opening salutation. "Out of snark already? I'm so disappointed in you."

Brian snorted and pinched the mouthy brat on the ass, making him yelp and rub said ass as Brian added a couple more minutes' punishment onto his growing tally. The brat had better watch himself, or he might just end up with more on time opposed to rest time with the handy little toy that he was wearing. Well, so long as it didn't cause issues with Sunbeam; he would never do anything to hurt either of them.

_"A cesarean section, or c-section, is a surgical procedure used to deliver the baby through the abdomen…" Edith said as Justin hit play._

Brian just shook his head and bit his lip at the inanity of it all; God, who the hell approved that these video scripts? Because really, this was just ridiculous.

"Don't say it," Justin huffed, pointing his finger at Brian over his shoulder.

"I didn't say a word," Brian smirked; but he sure as hell thought it.

"But you're thinking it," Justin accused, unwittingly echoing Brian's thoughts.

"And how can you possibly know what I'm thinking, Sunshine," Brian smirked; there had once been a time where the mind reading and finishing of sentences would have annoyed the fuck out of him. But these days he actually found it comforting to a degree.

"It's my super power," Justin bragged. "Rage has mind control powers, and JT has developed his own form of mind powers, in that he can read Rage like a book."

"Oh," Brian said, arching one brow. "So, what am I thinking right now, JT?"

He snickered as Justin dramatically squeezed his eyes shut and then pressed his index fingers to his temples in faux concentration, his tongue clenched between his teeth. And then he gasped, eyes popping open and he turned to look at Brian wide-eyed.

"I don't think that's anatomically possible, Rage," Justin said with a sad, doubtful smile; and then he rallied. "But I'm willing to give it the old college try."

Brian just laughed, bringing a sunshine smile to his husband's face; he pressed kiss onto those laughing lips and then turned back to hear Edith's next gem.

_"A c-section is major abdominal surgery…"_

"Really?" Brian deadpanned, an aggrieved look on his face. "And here I thought you'd be up and bouncing around in the matter of minutes, Sunshine. Are you saying that this is actually going to leave you bed ridden?"

Justin just rolled his eyes, not even bothering to reply.

"Where the hell do they even get this shit?" Brian bitched, reiterating a thought from earlier. "They really need to fire their script writers. I think Gus or Jenny could have done a better job when they were five."

Justin just patted him on the hand and continued to watch the video; Brian heived a sigh of exasperation and did the same.

_"And in most circumstances, you'll be awake throughout the entirety of the procedure," Edith continued. "And receive anesthesia, like an epidural or spinal block. Your doctor will typically make a small, horizontal incision just above your pubic bone, cutting through the underlying tissues to reach the abdominal muscles. She will manually move the muscles apart and cut through your uterus and amniotic sac to pull the baby out."_

Justin made a small sound at that, his skin taking on a greenish cast; Brian didn't blame him because the description had left him feeling a bit queasy as well.

"You okay there, Sunshine," he asked, rubbing Justin's back in a soothing gesture.

"Yeah." Justin swallowed thickly and grimaced. "I just really didn't need to hear the details of that; now, I'm going to have nightmares of all the ways that could go wrong."

"Fuck! Don't say that!" Brian cursed, his head filling with images of Justin hemorrhaging on the operating table; he closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Fuck, now I'm going to have nightmares too!"

Justin flashed him an apologetic smile.

"On an entirely different note," he said with a small, indignant frown. "Have you noticed that every time Edith mentions the doctor she automatically assume the OB with be female. Kind of sexist if you ask me."

"I hate to inform you of this, my little social reformer," Brian said with a bemused smile. "But most OB/GYN's _are_ female; about eighty-five percent are women. Pediatrics rate pretty high too at seventy-five percent; and family medicine by a much lesser degree, but still there are more women practitioners than male."

"How do you even know that?" Justin asked, looking over his shoulder in surprise.

"Daphne," Brian shrugged; he vaguely recalled a conversation with her years ago when she was looking up statistics for some of her chosen specialties. "I can't even remember how it came up; I think she was discussing what field she wanted to specialize in and mentioned a bunch of statistics and it stuck with me."

"Oh," Justin said, nonplussed; and then he shrugged. "Still she shouldn't assume; as that still excludes fifteen percent of the practitioners."

"Yes, dear," Brian said with only a hint of a mocking edge in his voice.

"You're getting rather good at that," Justin praised, patting Brian on the arm. "You only sounded mildly patronizing that time."

"I do try," Brian intoned with a single nod of his head.

_"C-sections are riskier than natural child birth, and carriers that have one face a higher risk of infection, excessive bleeding, and blood clots." Edith said, referring to a bulleted list flashed up onto the screen in bright blue._

"This is supposed to be the safer route for you?" Brian asked with a skeptical look.

"Well," Justin hedged. "I suppose they had to weigh a potential infection against the complications that my high blood pressure could have during the delivery. Liz did say that most people _could_ do a natural birth with hypertension; she just didn't recommend it in my case even if my blood pressure is only elevated. It would be different if I could take the meds to stabilize it; but with my allergies, I'm kinda fucked."

"Hopefully, it will stay that way," Brian muttered to himself. "I really don't want to deal with you if you have to on bed rest."

"Don't say that!" Justin exclaimed; and then he grabbed a pillow next to him and began to beat Brian with it. "Fuck, now you've jinxed me."

**Episiotomy or Perineal Tearing**

Brian stared at the blank screen in silence, not sure what to make of what they'd just seen. First of all, that was more of a woman's nether parts that he'd seen since his drunken, mistake fuck with Lindsay; and even then, he didn't remember much about it except in flashes that he desperately tried to block out. So, truthfully, it had likely been since health class during college.

Second, why they had thought they needed an animation of the actual procedure, he didn't know; but he again questioned what the creators had been thinking. Although, it would work well as a prevention aid. All they had to do was show this to a bunch of teenaged carriers and he'd bet that teen pregnancy would drop significantly when faced with the horrors that were giving birth and all its complications.

Jesus Fuck.

"Well," Brian said, finally breaking the silence between them. "That was more than I ever wanted to know about that."

Justin didn't say a word; he just kept staring at screen in mute horror.

"Justin?" Brian prodded, poking his husband in the side for good measure.

But Justin just continued to stare at the screen, shaking his head and opening and closing his mouth as if he wanted to speak, but lacked the capabilities.

"Justin?" Brian tried again, this time nudging him gently from behind; and that at least seemed to snap his husband out of his stupor.

"You know," Justin said faintly, still looking shell-shocked. "I am so going to hate myself for saying this; but I really could have happily gone the rest of my life not watching that. We really should have skipped it as it had nothing to do with my current pregnancy and I really could have lived without the visuals that were inflicted on my brain."

"HA!" Brian crowed, pumping his fist into the air; Justin didn't even react as he was still rambling on about the video they'd just watched.

"And seriously…what is with the fucking animations!" Justin cried in disgust, waving his hand at the screen much to Brian's amusement.

"Vindicated!" Brian crowed again, feeling quite smug that he had finally dragged Justin over to the dark side. He wondered if it was the offer of Twinkies that did it?

"Oh, fuck off…" Justin muttered, scrubbing his hands over his face as if he were trying to physically erase the last two minutes of his life.

"Oh, no you don't, Sonny Boy," Brian smirked; yeah, it was in bad taste to gloat, but in this case, he felt it was well warranted for all of the times Justin had forced him to watch this crap serene as can be. "You are so not living that down."

"Are you telling me that you actually found that worthwhile?" Justin asked incredulously; and God, those were music to Brian's ears. Justin was never going to live this down.

"No," Brian admitted wholeheartedly, " _but_ …" He held up one finger. "I wasn't the one insisting we watch these damned things."

"I hate you," Justin muttered, knowing that he couldn't refute the comment.

"No you don't," Brian smirked, sitting back with another smug cackle. "But next week, when you're torturing me with yet more of these videos, I want you to remember this moment when you finally admitted that I am right."

"Fuck off," Justin huffed and cued up the next video; but not even that could destroy Brian's good mood because fuck it all, he finally got the twat to admit this was a fucking waste of their time and nothing could beat that.

"Oh, it feels so good to be vindicated," Brian sang to himself, grunting Justin elbowed him; fuck the twat and his pointy, little elbows.

"You are such a dick," Justin huffed, still pouting in the wake of Brian's gloating. "I don't even know why I put up with you."

**Assisted Delivery: Vacuum or Forceps**

For the second time in near as many minutes, Brian stared at the screen unable to process just what he'd seen; or, maybe it was just that his brain _refused_ to process what he had just been watching. He shuddered and looked away with a grimace. Those tongs… forceps… whatever the fuck they had been were enough to give him nightmares for months. Jesus Fucking Christ.

The only thing that made him feel better about the whole thing – well actually, two things that made him feel better – was one, Justin was having a c-section and would have to deal with them; and two, Justin looked just as traumatized as he did. Seriously, who the fuck came up with these things; whoever did, must have a sadistic sense of humor.

Shuddering again, Brian looked down mournfully, muttering under his breath. "Well, that killed any hope of sex tonight…"

"Please," Justin snorted, finally coming back to life after their latest edition of _Let's Terrorize the First Time Parents_ , featuring Edith 'the Bland' Bradenbury as host. "Three words for you – vibrating butt plug."

And that certainly worked at perking things up.

"And we have rallied!" Brian crowed, happily patting the evidence of his renewed libido.

"You're so easy," Justin chuckled as he hit the next episode button.

"Please, you love me that way," Brian smirked; and then he shuddered again as he thought about the tongs of doom… forceps…whatever. "But seriously; I think I'm traumatized on Sunbeam's behalf. I don't even have the words to express just how disturbed I feel watching that thing. Not even the uplifting background music could soothe me like it usually does. I definitely do not feel like 'we can do it!'"

Justin hummed noncommittally, looking far too serene for Brian's mental well-being; so, of course, he had to poke at his husband a little.

"But at least there was no animation," he hummed, snickering when Justin groaned.

"Oh, fuck you," Justin huffed, grabbing his favorite pillow and beating Brian over the head with it. "You just had to remind me of that, didn't you?"

"Yes," Brian said a bit smugly. "Yes, I did."

"Such an asshole," Justin muttered as he hit play for the last video.

**Avoiding Unnecessary Interventions During Labor**

Thankfully, the last video was short; only slightly past a minute long and seemed to be more about summarizing what Edith had covered and how to prevent the unnecessary interventions during labor and delivery. And, although it was more common sense crap like choose a caretaker you trust, and dedicate a support person or advocate to speak for you, and make sure you ask questions – is this necessary; what are the risks and benefits; are there alternatives and can it wait – being the prominent messages. Brian couldn't work up the sarcasm to mock it all; he was just so fucking glad they were done.

"So, what did we learn today kiddies?" Brian asked rhetorically, not expecting to get an answer at all; which was why he was surprised when Justin did answer.

"That I'm _so_ not ready for this," Justin muttered, closing down the computer. "At all. Can you just tell them to knock me out completely?"

"Well, I don't know…" Brian hedged, tapping his lips with a finger.

"As the lady said," Justin said, giving Brian the stink eye. "Rule two for avoiding unnecessary interventions – have a dedicated support person and advocate. That means you buddy."

"Oh, but there is a huge difference between advocate and enabler," Brian said, just wanting to tweak his husband's nose; of course, he would be there to make certain all of Justin's wishes were followed to a T.

"Or," Justin huffed as he swung his legs over and slowly stood; he cast a baleful look over his shoulder. "I could just get my mother to stay in the room with us…"

"You know, there are only so many times you can threaten me with Mother Taylor before it loses its potency." Brian paused. "Besides, of the two of us, I doubt I'll be the one that cracks first and sends her away in a fit of temper; case in point, the other day."

"I would be able to put up with it," Justin huffed as he walked over and set the mouse down on top of the now closed laptop. "Because, as I told you; I plan to be knocked out."

"I don't think it works that way, Sunshine." Brian stood and stretched, working out the kinks in his muscles while Justin straightened out the room. "But, hey; if you can convince Liz to do it, I will stand behind you one hundred percent."

""Fine," Justin muttered as he stacked the throw pillows back onto each side of the couch; And Brian licked his lips as it gave him the perfect view of his husband's delectable ass; and speaking of that ass…

"Now that _that_ is resolved," Brian said, rubbing his hands together as Justin turned towards him. "I do believe that you owe me, Mr. Taylor-Kinney."

"Well, I don't know, Mr. Taylor-Kinney," Justin said, tapping the remote against his lips as if he was thinking about it, and slowly moving towards the stairs. "I don't know if you deserve it; maybe I'll just take this and take care of things myself."

"Oh, no you don't, brat," Brian huffed, his hands on his hips as he watched his husband's fruitless escape; because really, there was no way Justin could out run him in his current condition even with a head start. "You are not reneging now."

"You have to catch me first," Justin smirked and then took the stairs as fast as he could.

"Run while you can, Sonny Boy," Brian taunted, slowly stalking behind him as his husband disappeared through the door; he'd give it a minute or so before he began his serious pursuit. Just enough time to think he'd gotten away with it. "Because when I catch up with you, you're going to wish you hadn't made that offer."


	103. April 3 (Part One)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay again, but RL continues to be a pain; on a positive note, it's looking like things will start to calm again once I make it through this week. Or at least, I hope it does as I've been functioning on only about two hours of sleep per night for the past three nights. I really need sleep. 
> 
> FYI, this chapter is going be split in two; I didn't plan for this two-parter, but unfortunately it kept growing and growing and growing, and the next thing I knew I was over nine thousand words and I'm not even done. So, I hope to have the second part up for you tomorrow as it is mostly written; if not that, then for sure the day after. 
> 
> Again, thanks to all that continue to read and support this story despite my sporadic posting the past month or so.

**April 3 (Part One)**

 

Justin strode through the door of Kinnetik, waving the receptionist, Sarah, as he went past, smiling brightly when she looked up from the phone and waved him on. Not that he needed any permission to enter a build he half-owned, but he did like to let her know that he was there just out of common courtesy. Plus, it was good to know that strangers couldn’t get past her to wander around in place that they shouldn’t

 

Striding down the hall towards Brian’s office, Justin sighed and rubbed his lower back; he couldn’t wait to get to the café and sit down as he had been running since seven this morning. Due to the appointment that Brian had made with Tak, all of his afternoon plans and appointments had to be crammed into the morning, and he was ruing the fact that he hadn’t synced their calendars recently. Especially given the fact that they were going to be leaving for New York tomorrow afternoon, and he would need the morning to make sure that they were both packed and ready to go.

 

He didn’t blame Brian for this however, as the appointment with Tak does take precedent and he only went off the information that Justin had provided him; it was his own damned fault for getting lazy. But damn, he would have preferred a nice, lazy lie in this morning before he had to run around, getting everything ready for the trip.

 

Shifting his bag to the other hand, Justin smiled as he came to Brian’s outer office and found Yasmeen and Cynthia standing behind Yasmeen’s desk, clearly discussing Friday and Monday’s scheduling based on their comments. Friday made sense, as Brian was only going to be in the office from six to noon tomorrow. And actually, on that thought, it would probably be better if they stayed at the loft tonight since he was going to be in so early; he should talk to Brian about that.

 

But Monday, he wasn’t sure why they were rescheduling Monday as Brian and he were planning to return on Sunday evening. But maybe they just didn’t want to deal with a cranky Brian if he had a packed Monday. Shrugging, Justin looked up, smiled and waved as Yasmeen and Cynthia finally noticed him.

 

“Justin,” Cynthia greeted with a smile; she stood up straight and walked over to give him a hug and a kiss on the cheek; one that he returned. “We weren’t expecting you until around two; is everything okay?”

 

“Everything is fine,” Justin smiled, hiding his exhaustion as he knew they would mother hen him to death if he didn’t; and he really was fine. “I’m heading to the café to have lunch with Blake and Emmett before Brian’s and my appointment with the detective; and I just wanted to stop in and feed the beast. You know what he’s like if he isn’t watered and fed on a timely basis.”

 

“Please, tell me that’s not a code?” Yasmeen teased, smirking when Justin’s cheeks heated. “While it’s to my benefit that all of his appetites get fed, we don’t have the time for you two to get frisk today.”

 

“Yas!” Justin huffed, rubbing his hand over the back of his neck. He was right in his previous assessment; she was getting cheekier by the day.

 

“What?” Yasmeen snorted with one eyebrow raised. “I know you guys far too well to ever believe that you’re actually in there merely discussing your creative differences some days. Why do you think I make myself scarce when Brian has scheduled a brainstorming session with you, and you alone?”

 

“She’s got you there, Justin; sadly, I know all too well just how you two resolve your disagreements,” Cynthia snickered; and Justin’s cheeks grew fiery as he recalled all the times that Cynthia herself had walked in on one of their ‘seal the deal’ fucks.

 

“She needn’t announce it to the world, though,” Justin muttered, scrubbing at his cheeks as he looked around the quiet office.

 

“Oh, sweetie,” Yasmeen chortled, shaking her head at him as if she thought him to be a sad and deluded person; which she likely did. “I don’t need to do that; you and Brian broadcast that well all on your own. Murph _still_ blushes every time he passes by Brian’s office these days.”

 

“I really need to get that office fully soundproofed,” Justin muttered, casting a sheepish smile at the snickering women.

 

“You really, _really_ do,” Cynthia agreed with an emphatic nod of her head. “We’d _all_ be much happier not hearing just how much you love Brian pounding your...”

 

“Cynthia!” Justin exclaimed, his cheeks growing impossibly hotter.

 

“Oh, good one!” Yasmeen said, holding her hand up for a high five, which Cynthia happily delivered as Justin buried his scorching face into his hands. “If he gets any redder, we could put him outside and use him as a stop sign. Plus, maybe this will shame those two into behaving for a while.”

 

“I doubt it,” Cynthia smirked. “Brian would just take it as a challenge and then we’d never get any peace around here.”

 

“Point,” Yasmeen conceded with a knowing nod.

 

“If are both done with discussing my sex life,” Justin huffed and stared balefully at his two friends. “Is Brian available? I promise that I really am only here to drop off food before heading to lunch with Emmett and Blake.”

 

“Good,” Yasmeen said as she typed something into her computer; likely the instant message window that she and Brian kept up for when they needed to communicate when he was on the phone. She waited a moment and then nodded, before turning to Justin. “He should be done with his conference call in about five minutes or so. Do you want to drop that off and go, or wait?”

 

“I can wait for about ten minutes,” Justin shrugged, setting his bag down on her desk; he grabbed a nearby chair and sat down, mentally groaning in relief to be off his feet. “And then, if he’s still not off the phone, I can leave it with you and meet the guys.”

 

Yasmeen nodded and typed out another message; likely letting Brian know that Justin was in the office and waiting for him. Justin leaned back and turned to Cynthia, who was sitting on the edge of Yasmeen’s desk with a shit-eating grin on her face. He arched a brow and warily wondered what that smile was all about; something that made Cynthia’s grin broaden and her eyes twinkle with suppressed mirth.

 

“So,” she drawled, instantly garnering Yasmeen’s and his attention. “Have you talked to your mother recently?”

 

Justin winced. He so didn’t want to answer this question; but he also knew that if he didn’t, the two of them would instantly sense something was wrong and badger him until he caved and told them anyways just to get a little peace.

 

“Uh, no,” Justin hedged, blatantly ignoring Yasmeen’s sharp and instantly suspicious gaze. Damn that woman; it was times like this when he had no trouble believing that she was Daphne’s favorite cousin. They were just too much alike for him not to believe it. “I’ve sort of been avoiding her.”

 

“What did you do now?” Yasmeen demanded, her mouth pursing when Justin squirmed and looked away; and he briefly wondered if he could get away with not answering. But then he looked at her and saw the patented Chanders no-nonsense, ‘don’t fuck with unless you want to get hurt’ look and he caved like a house of cards.

 

“She and Deb showed up without an invitation and barged into the house without even asking when they heard that I was sick this past weekend…” Justin trailed off and cringed when Yasmeen snorted.

 

“And you became your typical, cranky self and chewed them out, am I right?” Yasmeen guessed, pinning Justin to his chair with a gimlet eye.

 

“I wasn’t very welcoming,” Justin conceded, groaning internally when Yasmeen snorted at his very obvious understatement.

 

“Like I said, you chewed them out and are now feeling like an ass about it,” Yasmeen said with a knowing smile; Justin scowled.

 

“You really are annoying, you know that?” Justin complained halfheartedly. “I can so tell that you’re related to Daphne.” Yasmeen just grinned maddeningly, making Justin roll his eyes. “Anyways, I have since been avoiding talking to her for longer than a few minutes at a time because, yes, I feel like an ass. Are you happy?”

 

“Very,” Yasmeen flashed a smug smile as she typed something into her computer; likely telling Brian all about their little contretemps, if you could call it that. And then she gave him the hairy eyeball. “Now man up and call your mommy!”

 

Justin rolled his eyes and nodded, not bothering to respond.

 

“And once you do kiss and make up,” Cynthia said, casting a sly glance Justin’s way; he sat up straight and gave a speculative glance, his nose catching the scent of fresh gossip. “You should ask her about her weekend. It was…enlightening.”

 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Justin asked slowly, his interest piquing when Cynthia’s lips twitched as if she was trying to hold in a laugh.

 

“Just ask her about it,” Cynthia said again, adopting that mysterious air that always drove Justin nuts. “I guarantee you’ll love it.”

 

“That’s if Em doesn’t spill the beans first,” Yasmeen chuckled, letting on that she was in the know too. Justin’s gaze bounced between the two, but neither were forthcoming; damn, what had he missed while he’d been holed up at home sick?

 

“Point,” Cynthia nodded; and then she turned on her heel and headed back toward her office. “And it looks as if Brian is off the phone; so, I’ll let you get to that.”

 

“Cynthia!” Justin called; but Cynthia kept walking without a word, her mocking laughter filling the office. “Cynthia, you can’t just drop a tidbit like that and not say anything!”

 

Justin pouted when it became obvious that she wasn’t going to respond.

 

“I hate when she does that.” Justin huffed and then cast a speculative look at a serene Yasmeen. “I don’t suppose…”

 

“Nope,” Yasmeen said, smirking and popping the P on the end as she continued to work at her computer. “You’ll just have to wait; go and feed your man.”

 

“I hate all of you,” Justin muttered halfheartedly as he gathered up his bad and stomped towards Brian’s office door, Yasmeen’s hearty chuckles following him.

 

Opening the door, Justin entered the office and quietly closed it as Brian was still wrapping up his call and he didn’t want to interrupt. Brian looked up and smiled that shy, sweet smile that always made Justin want to melt into a little puddle of goo. He held out a hand and beckoned him over as he nodded to whatever the person on the other side of the line was telling him. Justin walked towards him and then froze, his eyes widening in horror at Brian’s next words.

 

“Yes, I’ll be sure to pass the message on, Kellie,” his husband said, his eyes dancing with laughter as Justin scowled and vigorously shook his head, waving his hand in front of him in the universal sign of, ‘ _don’t you fucking dare tell her I am here_.’ Brian winked. “Yes, he and the baby are doing fine; I’ll be sure to pass the information on.”

 

Justin huffed and then continued his trek once it became clear that Brian wasn’t going to out him to Kellie; he lover her, but once she got to talking, he could never get her off the phone and he had far too much to do to indulge her today. Brian nodded again, making Justin giggle quietly as he rolled his eyes to the ceiling as if praying for help; he swiveled in his chair and then held out an arm, gently pulling Justin down onto his lap.

 

Justin huffed and tried to get away, certain he was far too heavy for this by now; but Brian held firm, pressing his brow to Justin’s temple as he wrapped the call.

 

“Alright, Kellie,” Brian said, his tone measured and very obviously humoring her. “We’ll get on that right away and then I’ll have them shipped off to you by no later than Wednesday of next week.” Brian nuzzled his nose against Justin’s cheek, and Justin sank into him with a silent sigh; someone was feeling affectionate today. “Will do; have a good day Kellie and I’ll talk with you later next week after you have the chance to review the new boards. Have a good day.”

 

And Brian leaned over and put the phone back into its cradle.

 

“Jesus fucking Christ,” he complained, wrapping his arms around a snickering Justin. “I thought she was never going to get off the fucking phone.”

 

“Poor baby,” Justin crooned, pressing little kisses over Brian’s lips and cheeks and eyes and any place he could reach; his husband hummed with pleasure and returned each of them with the same sweet softness. “Did the scary lady traumatize you…ow!”

 

Justin scowled and rubbed his ass where his husband had pinched it.

 

“Brat,” Brian smirked, and then rested his brow against Justin’s. “You’re here early; we don’t have to meet with Tak for another hour and a half.”

 

“I’m having lunch with Em and Blake,” Justin said, humming when his husband dipped down for another slow, sweet kiss; he could definitely get used to this. “But I wanted to bring this by before I went since you’ll likely be missing out on lunch again.”

 

Justin waved his hand in a vague gesture towards the insulated bag that was sitting on the corner of Brian’s desk, filled with cold grilled chicken, a salad, a container of balsamic dressing, cut fruit and some of Anna’s peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies. He knew that his husband could never resist them.

 

“I would have gotten something eventually,” Brian huffed, but he also looked pleased that Justin had thought of him and brought him something to eat.

 

“I’m sure you would have,” Justin said, humoring his husband; something Brian was well aware of based on his scowl. “But now, you don’t have to worry about it.” He leaned in and kissed Brian, lingering a bit before he reluctantly pulled away; he was already running late and had had to text Blake and ask him to order for him as it was. “Gotta go; meet you at the precinct at two?”

 

“Are you sure you want to go,” Brian asked, running his hands over Justin’s back and down to cup his ass; Justin groaned because damn it, his husband wasn’t playing fair. “You could stay here and share this and get up to far more interesting things than the gossip fest waiting of you.”

 

“Oh, no you don’t,” Justin huffed, squirming in Brian’s lap. “You stay away from my ass, buster. It’s a hands-off zone for the rest of the day after last night.”

 

“I bet I can change your mind,” Brian purred; and for one split second, Justin almost caved because sore or not, Brian was always hot like this and knew how to push all of his buttons, the asshole. But he managed to dig down and find the resolve to resist.

 

Barely.

 

“Not happening, you fiend,” Justin grumbled, tipping his head back as Brian pressed a trail of kisses down his neck; he bit his lip and hissed. “You have a hand; use that. I could barely sit before my bath this morning.”

 

“I warned you not to taunt me,” Brian chuckled, a wicked grin on his face as he was obviously remembering their fun and games the night before.

 

“I will be getting even,” Justin promised, kissing Brian firmly on the mouth; one that Brian deepened in an instant, kissing Justin until he was forced to come up for air. “You can count on that.”

 

“I look forward to it, dear,” Brian quipped, and then pressed his advantage, shutting Justin up with a deep kiss when he opened his mouth to respond. Groaning, Justin fell into the kiss until once again the need for air forced them apart.

 

“As I said, fiend,” Justin complained; but it was a weak thing at best, making Brian flash his infamous tongue-in-cheek grin. Justin shook his head. “Also, I had a thought.”

 

“That sounds terrifying,” Brian quipped, yelping when Justin pinched him in the side. “Brat! What was this thought?”

 

“We should probably stay at the loft tonight,” Justin said; Brian cocked his head thoughtfully. “This way you can sleep a bit later than if you were at Britin; and then I can drop you off at Kinnetik at six and head out to Britin to finish our packing, take care of what needs to be taken care of and then I can come back and pick you up at noon. We can do the rest from there.”

 

“Sounds like a plan to me, Sunshine,” Brian hummed, dropping a light kiss on his mouth. “Can’t argue with getting more sleep.”

 

Good,” Justin said and finally, and reluctantly, pulled himself away from his husband. He stood, and grumbled as the ache in his back reasserted itself. He rubbed it absently as he turned to face Brian. “Now, I really need to leave if I’m going to get the chance to eat before our meeting. Meet you there?”

 

“See you at two,” Brian agreed, stealing one more kiss before Justin turned and left the office to join his friends for lunch.

 

**… … … … …**

 

 

Justin toyed with the last of his fries, his stomach clenching the closer it came to the time he needed to leave. He knew that Brian was certain that Tak had good news for them, but Justin wasn’t so sure. He just had this feeling that, while they might get some good news, there was going to be a shit load of more bad news. Or, at least, that was the way it seemed that the investigation seemed to go for the most part – for every piece of good news the got, there were usually two or more pieces of bad news.

 

Sighing, Justin shoved his plate away and decided it was time to refocus on his friends; he looked up and caught Blake and Emmett exchanging a concerned look. They looked back and Justin waved them off with a wan smile; they already knew that the meeting with Tak was making him uneasy as he’d expressed his worries earlier. There was no reason for him to rehash everything for a second time.

 

So, Emmett nodded and did what he did best; distracted him with the latest gossip.

 

“So, you two would not believe what I saw this past weekend,” Emmett said, dropping his voice a notch as he looked around the café.

 

Not that he really needed to as the patrons there weren’t like those in the diner, where everyone was in everyone else’s business.

 

“A two for one pleather sale?” Justin teased, laughing and ducking when Emmett blew a rapberry and tossed his balled up napkin at Justin.

 

“Oh hush you,” Emmett sniffed, his nose in the air. “I’ll have you know that I have sworn off the pleather and stick to the real deal these days.”

 

“Mostly because Drew can’t keep his hands off of you when you do,” Blake quipped as he rocked Luc in his carrier.

 

“Well, one must do what he can to please one’s man,” Emmett preened, a wicked smile on his face. “And I do have to admit that I find the territorial side that those pants bring out very hot indeed.” Emmett paused as his eyes grew distant and smoky at something only he could see; Bake and Justin exchanged a look and snorted, bringing Emmett out o his little daydream. “But I’m getting sidetracked. Drew’s Neanderthal tendencies have nothing to do with this past weekend.”

 

“So, what did happen this weekend?” Justin asked with an amused smile on his lips as his friend practically vibrated in his seat with the need to dish the latest gossip. “I thought you were working on some obnoxiously over-the-top Sweet Sixteen party?”

 

“Oh, I was, honey,” Emmett groused, a disgruntled look flashing across his face. “And there has never a more obnoxious brat on this planet, let me tell you. I’m _so_ glad to be done with that; I swear, if her mother called me for one more _teensy-tiny_ request, I might have taken the snotty, little brat’s tiara and shoved it somewhere unmentionable.”

 

“Do tell us how you really feel, Em,” Blake quipped, laughing when Emmett just rolled his eyes and hissed his displeasure.

 

“Seriously,” Emmett complained, his face pinched into a dark frown “Her demands were just above and beyond; at the final count, there were like 300 teenagers at this damned thing. She must have invited her entire class to it. And for entertainment, she wanted a photo booth, a character artist, [a mime greeter](https://imgur.com/uDsLRsr), a [Zoltar](https://imgur.com/A7lqVig) the fortune teller machine, [jugglers](https://imgur.com/E9ndBKh) and [contortionists](https://imgur.com/dlHB9ZG) for their dinner entertainment, a magician for dessert entertainment and then a [10-piece band](https://imgur.com/8BwiKuy) for dancing after dinner and dessert.”

 

“Jesus,” Justin whisled low, shaking his head at the extravagance. He remembered those kinds of over t-the-top, no-expense spared parties all too well when he was younger. “Are you sure that you were working on a birthday party and not a prom?”

 

“It was ridiculous,” Emmett huffed, shaking his head in disgust; and then he pulled out his iPad and pulled up some pictures. “Here, let me show you some of the pictures. I am rather proud of it despite the fact that the girl was a nightmare to work with. She chose to have a [Mardi Gras-themed Masquerade](https://imgur.com/DVEU2oH) in purple, black and gold.”

 

“Wow,” Blake hummed in appreciation; and Justin nodded in agreement. Emmett had really outdone himself this time. Emmett smiled and preened. “That is gorgeous, Em.”

 

“That’s the Crystal Ball Room at Silver Willows Country Club isn’t it,” Justin asked, recognizing the décor in an instant; as well he should have given the number of dinners and events he’d attended over the years there.

 

“Yes; how did you know…” Emmett frowned and then hit his palm against his brow and shook his head. “Never mind; I forget that you were born into this set sometimes. I’m sure you’ve been to a few parties like this.”

 

“Guilty as charged,” Justin said with a rueful grin; although, he didn’t blame his friends for forgetting that he had grown up as part of that world; it seemed like a whole other life to him. “Maybe not quite this elaborate, but pretty damned close.”

 

“Is that?” Blake asked as he shuffled through the pictures; Justin looked down and noticed that he was pointing to a dessert bar.

 

“[Gold-dust and white-chocolate covered strawberries](https://imgur.com/hCSYrbE)?” Emmett snorted. “Yup. She wanted a whole [sweets buffet](https://imgur.com/XzYZJ8x) that had a gold, white and purple theme with white-and-gold pretzels, rice krispie treats, caramel s’mores pops, and cake pops; and then there were the gold macaroons and wrapped candies, and don’t even get me started on the [cake and cupcakes](https://imgur.com/vIRDoRz).”

 

“Christ,” Blake huffed, shaking his head as he continued to go through the event photos. “I was lucky to get a cake and ice cream growing up.”

 

“Same,” Justin snorted, as he watched the slide show. “My mom didn’t believe in overdoing it. Although, had I stayed in the closet like a good little boy and was living that happy WASP lie at home, my dad had plans for my eighteenth. But I said fuck no; like I wanted to be paraded around like some pampered prince for Craig’s friends to ogle.”

 

“It gets worse,” Emmett groused, again shaking his head in disgust. “Because, her highness couldn’t just have the same plate settings –  which were black, white and purple and quite tasteful if you ask me – or the regular cupcakes for herself and her spoiled, little Queen Bee entourage at the head table. Oh no, she just had to have [gold-and-white place settings](https://imgur.com/MNepqmd) and [designer cupcakes](https://imgur.com/TPj5vFJ). It was ridiculous. That is one teen that needed to be told no a long fucking time ago.”

 

 “Someone’s cranky,” Blake teased, handing the iPad back to Emmett, who shut it down and packed it back away in his messenger bag.

 

“You would be too after deal with these people,” Emmett said, crinkling his nose as if he’d smelled something foul.

 

“I can imagine,” Justin said sympathetically; he knew all too well what a nightmare those society mother’s could be. “So, what scandalous thing happened at this teenage Hellmouth that had you all in a twitter?”

 

“Oh!” Emmett exclaimed, clapping his hands in excitement. “Right; I completely forgot where I was going with this. So, as I said, I was dealing with her highness and her mother, Queen Grandiloquent, when you would not believe who I saw there?”

 

“Lindsay?” Justin guessed, and then smirked when Emmett’s mouth dropped open.

 

“Wait…how did you know…?” Emmett asked, his mouth still slightly agape.

 

“I’ve seen her parents there before,” Justin shrugged, scrunching up his nose disdainfully. “And since Mel kicked her ass to the curb, there are few places for her to run, and mommy and daddy are one of those places.”

 

“So you already heard…?” Emmett asked rhetorically, pouting with disappointment.

 

“Oh, no,” Justin said, shaking his head in negation. “I haven’t heard anything; as you know, I don’t run with that crowd these days. Although, I really do want to take Brian for dinner one day just so he can experience a true WASP-off. I think he’d enjoy it.”

 

“Well, considering that he’s loved it every time you smacked Lindsay down,” Blake snorted, a wicked gleam in his eyes; Brian wasn’t the only that had enjoyed Justin taking Lindsay down a peg or two. “I think he’d be over the moon to see you take down those snooty assholes in a heartbeat.”

 

“I should take Deb and Carl as well,” Justin hummed thoughtfully; and then he giggled at the thought of those two at the country club. “I can just see the pinched expressions on all those pretentious assholes’ faces. But, we’re getting off topic. So, Lindsay finally showed her face to the country club set?”

 

“Yup,” Emmett said, popping the P on the end, a gleeful smile sliding over his lips. “But, I bet she wished she hadn’t after what happened that night.”

 

“Oh, do tell,” Blake said, nearly salivating in anticipation.

 

“You are such a gossip queen,” Justin teased; dodging the French fry that came flying his way. And then he too turned to Emmett with anticipation. “But seriously, do tell.”

 

“So anyways,” Emmett drawled. “So, I was talking to Queen Bitch and Princess Bitch when this person comes storming down the hall, frothing at the mouth. And to be honest, I didn’t even recognize her at first; I don’t know what happened to her, but her hair fried. It looked as dry as straw and brittle as glass; and nothing she did to try and smooth it worked. It like a big, old tumbleweed attached to her head. And then make up – I’ve seen clowns with less face make-up and as she got closer, I could see why. Apparently something happened, and she had these huge hives or pimples or boils or something all over her face and she was using this thick stage make up to cover up.”

 

“Did she?” Justin inquired mockingly, one brow arched. “Know anything about that?”

 

“No,” Emmett said; and then held out his little finger when Justin and Blake both shot him a skeptical look. “Pinky swear; I know nothing about this. Nor have I heard anything on the Avenue. And you know those gossipy queens wouldn’t be able to keep quiet if they knew anything. Anyways, so she sees me and starts to head over; and I’m dreading dealing with her bullshit, especially in front of my clients; but before she could get there, this annoyed, officious looking man strides over to her, halting her in her tracks.”

 

“Tall, dark blonde hair, green eyes, about sixty-ish?” Justin asked, something clicking as he recalled Cynthia’s words; he knew that her uncle was president of the club and if he remembered correctly, his mother was supposed to go to some event there on Saturday.

 

“Yup,” Emmett said with a curious smile.

 

“He’s the current president if I remember correctly,” Justin explained with a wicked smile; he knew that if the president was getting involved, whatever had happened had to be very bad; or, well, at least for Lindsay. “Joshua Moore or something like that.”

 

“Cynthia’s…father?” Blake coked his head and pursed his lips thoughtfully.

 

“Uncle,” Justin corrected. “Her father’s younger brother.”

 

“Well,” Emmett said, looking much like the cat that got into the cream; and Justin grinned back as he knew this had to be good. “Isn’t that interesting?”

 

“Isn’t it?” Justin smirked. “So, what happened?”

 

“Well,” Emmett said, leaning closer and lowering his voice. “He comes storming out of one of the dining areas, red-faced and positively fuming as he stalked over to her. And she immediately quells in the face of his anger and starts looking around for an escape, but doesn’t get far because two more of his staff are cutting off her escape route.”

 

“Seriously?” Justin’s brows shot into his hairline. “I’m surprised; usually they wouldn’t be so blatant about confronting her. If anything happens, it’s usually behind closed doors.”

 

“Not in this case,” Emmett shook his head; he cast a surreptitious look around and then continued in a confidential tone. “Whatever she did had him frothing at the mouth.” And then he pulled back to continue his tale. “So, anyways; she immediately starts simpering and trying to charm her way out of it in her typical Lindsay way – letting her hair fall around her face to appear more vulnerable and making herself small and meek and talking in that soft voice she uses to try and talk her way out of something.”

 

“Of course,” Justin huffed in disgust and rolled his eyes.

 

“But for once, it doesn’t work,” Emmett said far too gleefully. “This guy just looks at her like she’s something he scraped off the bottom of his foot.”

 

“I’ll bet she hated that.” Blake snorted, rubbing Luc’s cheek when he started to whimper and keeping it up until the baby quieted.

 

“Oh, she was fuming, sweetie; you have no idea,” Emmett chortled. “Anyways, so, he pulls himself up, a disgusted look on his face and he tells her, ‘Ms. Peterson, we at the Silver Willows have a certain image to uphold; and the only reason that you and your family have remained members to this date is the fact that your maternal grandfather was well-liked and well-respected in these circles. But there comes a time when even that thin hold becomes worn and snaps. And we simply cannot overlook your appalling behavior any longer. So, it is with regret that I must inform you that you, and subsequently the rest of your family, are no longer welcome within our halls. Your membership has been rescinded, effective immediately; please, do not return, otherwise we will have to take further actions against you. And I’m certain that you wouldn’t want this unfortunate information getting out, now would you?’ And then with that, he looked at her coldly and then turned on his heel and left.”

 

“So, that’s what Cynthia meant,” Justin hummed, shaking his head. “Fuck; I wonder what she did to get that reaction.”

 

“So, you didn’t plan it?” Emmett asked, looking a bit surprised.

 

“No,” Justin shrugged. “As I’ve said; while my mother still holds a membership, and we’re in good standing, I never go there unless I’m bored and want to fuck with the pretentious fuckwits – namely my dad. I wonder if Mom might know; I’ll have to ask her.”

 

“Or we could ask Cynthia,” Emmett hummed thoughtfully. “She’s always disliked Lindsay; I’m certain she could get the details.”

 

“If she’s not behind it herself,” Justin snorted; and he couldn’t help but wonder just how big of a role Cynthia played in the latest chapter of Lindsay’s Saga of Stupid.

 

“I’ll admit,” Emmett admitted as he sat back into the booth. “I hadn’t thought about that; but, I also wasn’t aware that her uncle was President of the club.”

 

“I’ll see what I can find out,” Justin said as he pulled out his wallet; as much as he wanted to stick around and talk further, he really needed to get going.

 

“Do,” Blake said, egging him on with glee. “And then tell us all about it.”

 

“Like I said,” Justin snorted as he set a few bills on the table and then closed his wallet and put back in his pocket. “Gossip Queen.”

 

“Pot, kettle, black,” Blake sniffed, sticking his tongue out at Justin. “I just want to see that nasty bitch get her just desserts.”

 

“Do tell us how you really feel, sweetie,” Emmett snorted, echoing Blake’s earlier sentiment.

 

“I’m afraid that my true feeling are fit for people’s ears,” Blake said with a vicious sneer; and really, Justin was beginning to think that Blake had a bigger grudge against Lindsay than he did. “I will say that I have been waiting for this day for three years though, and it couldn’t happen to a more deserving person.”

 

“No argument there,” Justin said as he stood; and then he grimaced as his back twinged; fuck, he was so tired of aching and feeling fatigued and Sunbeam using his bladder as a trampoline. He was so ready for this to be over. “Now, as much as I’d love to stay, I better go meet Brian.”


	104. April 3 (Part Two)

**April 3 (Part Two)**

"So, I was right," Brian said, his hand tightening around Justin's as they both stared at Tak sitting in the chair across from them. "You do have the little asshole in custody."

Justin chewed on his lower lip; they were sitting in an interview/interrogation room again, and Tak had just dropped his bombshell, (that wasn't much of one as Brian had been saying it from the beginning), that they had Blaine in custody. He didn't know how he felt about that. On the one hand, there was relief; this person had tried to drug his husband, and would have succeeded if Brian hadn't been a paranoid bastard of late. But another part of him was uneasy for a reason he couldn't place his finger on.

Maybe it was that it seemed too easy; he'd learned the hard way, a long, long time ago, that justice rarely prevailed when you were a gay man or woman. True, it had gotten better over the years, and the attitudes he'd went up against when he had been bashed weren't tolerated these days; but bigotry still remained on every level. Frankly, they had gotten lucky when it came to Tak; he had been pursuing this with a dogged determination rather than let it fall by the wayside like what had been so prevalent during the Jim Stockwell days. Still, Justin remained cautious when it came to police matters.

He just didn't want to get his hopes up, only to have another Chris Hobbs situation slap him in the face, leaving him feeling bashed for a second time.

"We do," Tak said, his hands steepled in front of him; his intense stare made Justin feel a bit uneasy, particularly as he seemed to be trying to find the right words to express himself. "He turned himself in."

"What?" Justin asked, his mouth agape; he hadn't expected that.

"He turned himself in?" Brian asked at the same time, seeming just as dumbfounded as Justin; he glanced over at Justin, a small, confused frown on his lips. Justin shrugged; he didn't really know what to think about that either.

"Yup," Tak confirmed and Justin thought he detected a note of incredulity under the layers of wariness and fatigue. Well, at least he and Brian weren't the only ones thrown by the recent turn of events.

"But…" Justin trailed off, slowly shaking his head as he tried to make sense of it all; after all, it hadn't been that long ago that Blaine had blatantly run from Brian when he'd run into him down on Liberty Avenue. "Why?"

"That apparently is a long and intricate story," Tak sighed, scrubbing a hand through his hair as he stared at the stack of papers on the table. "But the gist is, he became concerned about how unstable his accomplice has been acting lately."

"He should have thought about that before he ever got involved with the asshole," Brian spat, his grip tightening on Justin's fingers to a painful degree; Justin emitted a small squeak and tug at his hand, instantly alerting Brian to his grip, and his husband shot him an apologetic look and brought his fingers to his lips for a gently kiss.

"True enough," Tak nodded, ignoring the small gesture as he wrote something on his pad. "But we all get caught up in bad situations from time to time without realizing just how deep we'll be sinking; usually when we trust the wrong person's words, as he did."

"It doesn't excuse his actions," Brian insisted, his overprotective streak rising to the forefront; and Justin sighed internally. He just knew that Brian was going to be a stickler on this because it revolved around him and Sunbeam.

Not that he blamed Brian; if the roles had been reversed, he would be acting the same way, but Justin also couldn't help feeling that they had more important things to worry about than someone who was likely nothing more than a pawn in bigger game.

"Not excuse them, no," Tak conceded with a frown, tapping his fingers on the desk. "But there were mitigating circumstances that explain his actions to a degree."

"Like?" Justin asked, curious as to why this man had gotten involved; Brian huffed impatiently and opened his mouth to respond. Likely to once again assert that the why didn't matter; just that he had done it. But Justin waved him off. "Hush, Brian; I think I have a right to know why this man is fucking with our lives. And I know that you want to know as well, if you'd just admit it to yourself."

Tak's lips quirked as Brian rolled his eyes and huffed once again; but he otherwise remained silent, not wanting to get involved with the squabble. Instead, he shuffled through the stack of papers, pulled out a couple of packets and slid them over.

"It would probably be easier to read this," he said, gesturing to the packet; Justin pulled it over to him and found a photocopy of what looked like a statement or confession.

Handing one to Brian, Justin settled down to read, the ball in his stomach tightening with every word that he read. Fuck; those poor fucking kids. Although, kid really wasn't the right word in Blaine's case as he was close to Justin's age. Sighing as he finished it about fifteen minutes later, Justin set the papers aside and pinched the bridge of his nose, utterly sick to his stomach.

Well, fuck; what the hell was he supposed to do now?

The cold hard truth was that this guy had willingly gone along with a scheme to separate him and Brian without thought to what they felt; but it was also obvious that he had gotten in way over his head and had never intended for things to go as far as they did. And with his sister to care for, (and really, the uncle situation was a whole other can of worms that he didn't know how to deal with), he'd been stuck.

Blaine was clearly in the wrong, but he hadn't started his scheme with malicious intent; he'd just been infatuated with Brian, something that Justin could understand. And when this guy had mentioned being infatuated with Justin, they'd struck a deal to try and get what they wanted. Yes, it was immature and a very high school-ish thing to do; but Blaine had genuinely believed Wolf when he'd told him that he and Justin had been in a relationship and Brian had been the interloper, not him.

Which, how the fuck _that_ was possible when everyone on the Avenue knew was well versed in his and Brian's story, he didn't know; wires had obviously gotten crossed somewhere. Or maybe Blaine was just one of the few people on the Avenue that didn't pay attention to gossip, shocking as the idea may be. Whatever it was, while Justin was still angry about everything that had been happening, he didn't want to ruin this man's life just because he'd gotten caught in Wolf's web of lies.

Glancing over at Brian, Justin noticed that his husband was staring at his closed packet with a troubled frown on his face. And then Brian looked up and immediately scowled at the look on Justin's face, his eyes hardening a bit for the argument he knew coming. But Justin had to talk to him and see if there wasn't some way they could help this kid; even if it meant that they could only talk the prosecutor into a lighter sentence.

"Brian…" Justin said, and then trailed off when Brian's lips compressed into a thin, white line and he stubbornly shook his head.

"No, Justin," Brian said, his eyes dark and conflicted, even as he stubbornly held onto his convictions; but Justin couldn't let this go. The two of them reminded him of he and Molly to a degree and all he could think was, 'what would he do for Molly in this case?'

"Brian we can't…" Justin tried again, only to be cut off once more by the stubborn jutting of Brian's jaw as he turned to Justin.

"I feel bad for him too," Brian said, sighing when Justin just looked at him, one brow arched. "I do; but this doesn't negate what he's done to us."

Justin sighed; he knew that Brian was right, but he didn't feel right pressing charges against this kid…man when he was just doing his best to keep his sister safe and he ended up trusting the wrong person. Blaine made a foolish and rash decision, hoping to grab a little happiness after a hard life; one he now regretted. And Justin wanted to help him and his sister, not make things worse.

"We'll talk later," Justin said firmly before he looked back at Tak; he didn't want to argue about this right now; not when there were other things to address.

"Fucking sentimental twats are going to be the death of me…" Brian grumbled under his breath, hissing when Justin elbowed him in the ribs, but he too dropped it in favor of looking at Tak and saying. "Please, tell me some good came from this?"

Tak nodded. "Several leads were produced from our interrogation. The first being a sketch to go along with the description." He pulled out a sketch and slid across the table to Justin ad Brian. "Could you tell me if you recognize this person?"

Justin looked down at the sketch and sucked in a hissing breath as he studied the familiar face before him. But it was familiar in that he'd seen it before, not that he actually recognized the person; this had been one of the workers wandering around the gallery before the show; or at least Justin thought he had been. In fact, he recalled actually stopping and talking to him about one of his pieces.

"This is him?" Justin asked, still staring at drawing.

"Well, the best we could come up with a sketch artist," Tak said, watching Justin intently; Justin hissed again and cursed lowly under his breath.

"Fuck," he muttered, running his hand through his hair in agitation; he looked up and met both Tak's and Brian's concerned eyes. "I've talked to him." Justin tore his gaze away and stared at his supposed stalker's face once more. "Why didn't I notice…?"

"You've talked to him?" Brian and Tak asked together; but with different inflections. Tak sounded almost excited to hear it, likely hoping Justin might have more information for him. Brian on the other hand sound horrified at the idea.

"Yes," Justin said; he cocked his head, trying to remember as much as he could of that day, which was a bit hazy due to how busy he'd been. "He was at the gallery a couple of days before opening of my show; I found him staring at one of my pieces. But I thought he was one of the workers; so, I didn't think anything of it."

Tak nodded and made a notation on his notepad, while Brian gaped.

"You talked to him!?" Brian demanded for a second time and stared at Justin as if he'd done something monumentally stupid. Justin huffed and barely refrained from rolling his eyes; yes, while he understood Brian's concern at being in close contact with the stalker, it wasn't like Justin had known who he was talking to at the time.

"Didn't I just say that?" Justin asked caustically, a bit irritated at Brian's attitude.

"Why the fuck were you talking to him?" Brian demanded with a scowl on his face.

"Well, it wasn't like I _knew_ it was him, Brian," Justin said with a baleful stare. "I thought he was one of the gallery workers or associated with one of the other companies trekking in and out. He had an official looking photo ID on a lanyard around his neck. It's not like he had a flashing, neon sign that screamed ' _I'm a stalker!_ ' over his head."

"Smart ass," Brian muttered and let it go for the moment; but Justin knew that when they were alone that Brian would definitely bring it up again.

"Anyways," Justin huffed, turning back to Tak. "We just talked about the piece he was looking at; there was nothing of import discussed."

"We'll come back to that later," Tak nodded and then pointed to the sketch, obviously wanting to get on with it. "So, this is the guy you talked to."

"Yeah; and come to think of it," Justin said, still staring at the picture; he wouldn't admit it out loud, but knowing this guy had easy access to the gallery and had actually talked to him that day, made his skin crawl. "It's also possible that this is the same person that I saw standing outside the doctor's office after we did the hospital tour and when we went on that trip up to…what was the name of that place again?"

"The Lakehouse Inn," Brian murmured absently. "Geneva-by-the-Lake."

"That's it!" Justin snapped his fingers. "I saw him standing across the street; Brian had been in the candy store at the time; he'd been staring across the street, presumably at me; although, I thought he'd been staring at the candy store, so I didn't think anything of it at the time. He crossed the street and walked towards me, but then Brian came out, distracted me and I don't know where he went after that. I'm pretty sure this is the same guy; although, I didn't see his full face then; just the nose and the eyes – which are a little off here – and his hair, which is a bit darker."

"Brian?" Tak turned and looked at Brian, who just shook his head.

"I don't remember seeing him," Brian said, his brow pinched. "But I have to admit that there is something familiar about him. I just can't put my finger on why or what."

"Right?" Justin exclaimed, feeling justified that he wasn't the only that thought the man seemed familiar, even if he couldn't place him. "That's what I thought when I first saw him; it's why he caught my eye in the first place. But I can't place him."

"So the nose and eyes are off?" Tak asked Justin.

"Yes," Justin nodded, and then pointed out the differences. "The nose is a bit wider overall; and his eyes are spaced a bit further apart, and the outside corners are a bit more down-turned here. They're also a bit rounder, less of an almond-shape. And actually the jaw is softer now that I really look at it. I can do a sketch if you like?"

"That would be great," Tak said, sliding the drawing back in his pile. "We've been circulating these at the different precincts and hopefully we'll get a hit from it."

"So, you haven't tracked him down yet," Brian asked; and Justin could tell that he was disappointed when Tak shook his head in negation.

"No," Tak sighed; also looking disgruntled that they hadn't gotten their hands on the guy yet. "We were, however, given an address to one of his bolt holes; but he was gone when we got there. And it wasn't in his name."

"Of course not," Brian huffed and pinched the bridge of his nose; Justin lifted his hand and rubbed the back of his husband's neck. He knew that Brian was frustrated and disappointed with the seeming lack of information and action; but, truthfully, Justin was amazed and happy that they had gotten even this much.

It was certainly more than what had happened with the bashing or when Brian's loft had been burgled the first time around. The assholes had barely even lifted a hand on either occasion as evidenced by the reduced charges with Chris and the lack of any leads whatsoever on the loft break-in. Not that Brian had helped much by lying to them in the first place about having strangers over; the idiot.

"The interesting thing though," Tak continued, breaking Justin out of his thoughts. "Is that the cottage is owned by a Marion Buckland; who is a person of interest as she once worked for the cleaning service employed by both yourself and the gallery."

"Mary?" Brian shook his head in disbelief; and Justin had to agree with his assessment. Mary had been like family and he knew she'd never knowingly do anything to hurt Brian. "She used to clean the loft; I've known her for years. There is no way that she is involved with this; I trust her implicitly."

"And she might not have been," Tak conceded with a nod. "At least not knowingly. According to her neighbors, she had a granddaughter, Ellen Hamilton; that lived with her in the main part of the house. Our mystery man, who Blaine simply referred to as Wolf, rented out the apartment above the garage for some additional income. It could have been the granddaughter or he might have made her an unwitting accomplice when he stole her keys. Unfortunately, she and her granddaughter are out of the country and can't be reached."

"Yeah," Brian agreed, cocking his head thoughtfully. "She mentioned that; said she was going home to England to visit family, before she settled down in Scotland near one of her kids. She was leaving the house to her granddaughter, who took the semester off to accompany her for an extended visit. She was planning to come home by the end of July to get ready for fall classes. She's enrolled at Carnegie."

"That's what we were told too," Tak hummed and jotted a fe notes down on his pad. "You wouldn't happen to have hers or her granddaughter's number, would you?"

"I do have a home and work number for Mary," Brian said with a frown. "Nothing for the granddaughter though; but my guess is that it would be the phone to the cottage. I can give them to you though and you can check them out."

"Might as well," Tak nodded, making a notation on a post-it note to call Brian about the numbers later and then setting it aside. "It may lead nowhere, but better to eliminate that avenue. The real interesting thing is though, according to her neighbors; is Ms. Buckland was violently ill just before they left for their trip."

Brian and Justin frowned and shared a worried look between them; they hadn't heard about that.

"In fact," Tak continued, reading from his notes. "It led to a brief hospitalization due to dehydration and as a result, she missed the last few days of work and her granddaughter had to turn in her keys to her work. But it took the granddaughter a couple of days to do so. The granddaughter told the company that it was because she was staying with her grandmother in the hospital; but that does leave about a forty-eight hour window where the perp could have had access to them."

"That still doesn't explain his knowledge of our codes," Brian pointed out. "I doubt that Mary would have given those to anyone."

"I can't tell you how he might have obtained those yet," Tak admitted with a single nod of acknowledgment. "The building code and the loft code were different, correct?"

"Yes," Justin said, beating Brian to it this time. "They weren't even remotely similar. Brian and I usually take turns choosing the codes; and it was my turn to chose this time. I can guarantee that I only gave the code to Brian, our friend and CFO Ted Schmidt, our friend and COO Cynthia Moore, and my mother and our property manager, Jennifer Taylor; the security company and the cleaning service also had access to the codes."

"And don't forget Deb," Brian pointed out unhappily. Justin frowned; he had completely forgotten about that. And based on his expression, so had Brian. They definitely needed to have a talk with Deb on that. "I know that you didn't give it to her, Sunshine; but, the fact remains that she got it somehow. My bet is on Mikey in that case, but he isn't talking. That is definitely something I'm still curious about."

"I recall that from last time," Tak said, tapping his pen against his notepad. "We are trying to track Ms. Buckland, and her granddaughter, Ms. Hamilton, down. Hopefully they might shed some light onto the key situation; especially that of Ms. Hamilton, since she is the last known person to have access to the keys."

"I'll look those numbers up for you when I get back to the office," Brian promised, typing a reminder into his phone. "And then I'll give you a call or email them to you."

"Good," Tak nodded and then jotted a few more notes into his pad. "There are a couple of more things that we should discuss about the house."

And then he paused, noticeably hesitating, and Justin's heart sank into his stomach at the conspicuous lull in the conversation. In his experience, a cessation in conversation usually preceded something the other party knew you wouldn't want to hear; and given the current topic, Justin had a good idea he wasn't going to like this one bit.

"Well?" Brian prompted impatiently.

"Brian…" Justin rolled his eyes and swatted at his husband's arm before shooting Tak an apologetic smile. "Sorry, patience has never been his strong suit."

"It's perfectly fine, Justin," Tak said, dismissing it with a wave of his hand. "I'd react the same if I were in his place. When we got to the place and were able to search it, we found a few disturbing things. It had been obvious that he was in a rush when he left, and as such, he left quite a few things behind; one of those being a shrine to Justin."

He pulled out a handful of photos and laid them out on the table; Justin scooted forward as much as his stomach would allow and looked at them, shuddering at the dingy and wrecked room in the shots. It looked like a hurricane had hit the room. Sifting through the photos, Justin shuddered at the multiple shots of a wall dedicated to picture of him, interspersed with other paraphernalia that he presumed had to do with him.

"That's not creepy at all," Justin rasped softly, shuddering again as he recoiled and curled into Brian's side; Brian pressed a soothing hand to the back of his neck and squeezed, grounding Justin as he continued to stare at the photos.

"But expected," Brian said softly, his eyes riveted on the photos as his hand tightened on Justin's neck; Justin frowned. "What, he's fixated on you. Hell, Ted had one of Michael when he believed himself to be in love with him and he's not even psycho; much."

Justin rolled his eyes at the dig at Ted; he knew that Brian was just trying to lighten the moment and make Justin feel better, but he didn't think that anything could make him feel comfortable at this point. Those photos creeped him out. Justin squeezed Brian's hand and scooted forward to view the pictures again.

"Along with the typical pictures," Tak said pointing at the photos. "There were also newspaper and magazine articles, brochures, fliers and tickets from your shows, as well as a couple of articles of clothing."

"Clothing?" Justin asked faintly, his skin pebbling as gooseflesh broke out across it.

"A scarf and a shirt," Tak said, pulling a photo out of the batch; it was a close up of a burgundy shirt and a familiar blue, cashmere scarf. "This is a picture of them."

"I remember that scarf," Justin said, shivering as he stared at the scarf he'd gotten for Christmas; it was a favorite as Brian said that it matched and brought out his eyes. "I got that from Jenny at Christmas; I thought I lost it. The shirt, I can't place. But that doesn't mean it wasn't mine; I just don't remember it. It does look like something I'd wear when I would go out to Babylon though."

"And you do have a bad habit of stripping off your shirt when you're dancing," Brian huffed, a disgruntled moue on his face. "Actually, do we even know what happened to the shirt you wore when you did that strip-tease contest during Christmas. I don't remember if we ever went back for those."

"I don't know," Justin shrugged; he knew that he had gotten the pants back, but he had three or four burgundy shirts; so who knew? "I don't remember getting it back; but, we were kind of distracted that night and I know we didn't stop for my clothing after the contest. If I remember correctly, while it too was a deep burgundy button-down, it wasn't this one. Can we even be sure that it was mine?"

"It's the only thing that makes sense," Tak said, his eyes filled with compassion; he likely knew that Justin was trying his best to distance himself from the shrine as much as possible. "At the very least; he believes that it is yours since it was part of the shrine."

Justin shuddered again and looked away; the thought that someone was this obsessed with him left him feeling helpless and scared; he couldn't even begin to comprehend why this person was so fixated as he'd swear up and down that he'd never seen this person before, he'd never interacted with them outside the gallery and he was fairly certain that he'd never been in an intimate situation with him.

"Yeah, not creepy at all," Justin muttered again, mostly to himself.

"It gets worse," Tak said a bit hesitantly.

"How could it possibly get worse?" Brian demanded incredulously; he wrapped an arm around Justin's back and cinched him protectively into his side.

"We found several unfinished 'love letters' addressed to your husband," Take explained quietly, pulling out about a dozen pieces of paper.

"What?" Brian chocked, staring at the sheaf of papers as if they were a snake about to strike; Justin stared at them too, a tricked of fear sliding down his spine.

"They are all hand-written and were found in a drawer by the shrine," Tak said, he clasped his hands and laid them on the stack.

"Can I see them?" Justin asked, pointing to them.

"I don't know that you should," Brian began, but then trailed off when Justin waved him off and scooted forward.

"I might recognize the writing, Brian," Justin huffed, trying not to get irritated at his husband's over-protectiveness. "Plus, I'd like to know what this person is thinking."

"Justin, your stress levels…" Brian tried again, but then trailed off into a scowl when Justin huffed and glared at him. "Fine; would he be able to look at them?'

"Of course," Tak said, laying the stack in front of Justin. "Keep in mind these are just copies of the originals. And as such, they are a little smudged in areas; although, that isn't a copier issue, but due to some smudges on the originals."

Justin nodded and pulled them over to him and began to read the first one with Brian leaning over his shoulder to do the same.

_Dear Justin,_

_Have you ever looked at a person and thought, 'I was made for this person and he was made for me? That he is the other half of my soul and I would do anything to be as close to this person as physically possible. That you want nothing more than to meld with them until you couldn't figure out where you began and they ended?' That is what I feel when I look at you. I see you and see perfection, someone I would live and die for…_

Justin shuddered and shoved it aside; yes, he did know what that like. He had thought something similar not long after meeting Brian for the first time. He'd known even then that Brian was going to be significant in his life, not that he'd ever actually use the word soul-mate. So, it was disturbing to see those words written in another's hands and know that this person was… well it made his skin crawl.

Flipping through the next two or three, all seeming to be alternate versions of the first one, Justin stopped when he reached one that made his blood chill:

_Dear Justin,_

_I touched you for the first time in years today; and it was still as magical as it was the first time we touched. I remember that day so vividly. I was so surprised when you talked to me that day; I'd always thought you were beautiful, but somewhat untouchable for more reasons than I care to go into. And then when you touched me for the first time, it was like I'd come alive for those far too brief moments. I long deeply for those touches…_

**_Jesus Fucking Christ._ **

The letter slipped from Justin's numb fingers and slid onto the table with a soft hiss; Justin just shook his head and stared at the letter, completely uncomprehending as to what the hell this man was talking about. He'd only recalled two, maybe three times he'd knowingly encountered the man and he didn't recall a time they'd touched. Did it really happen? Or was this something that the man had made up in his head? And if he had made it up, fuck…how fucking delusional was this person?

Shuddering again, Justin shook his head violently to clear it and then tore his eyes away from the paper just as Brian reached for it and shoved it away with an angry swipe of his hand. Justin looked up and met furious and terrified hazel eyes, and wished he had the strength to soothe his husband, but he was feeling the same – angry and terrified and panicked and violated. That was the prevalent feeling. He felt **_violated_**.

Shuffling through the papers, he read a third one, dreading what he'd find.

_Dear Justin,_

_Hello, my love. It was so good to see you today, even if you didn't know it was me. You really need to be careful; I don't even want to think about what might have happened if I hadn't been there to catch you before you fell over. Next time ask an employee to get you whatever it is you need if you can't reach the top shelf. Although, I suppose I can't complain as it gave me an opportunity to hold you in my arms for a time. You've always fit there so perfectly and I can't wait for the day that we're reunited…_

And fuck! He'd had a feeling that grocery store man was the stalker, but to have confirmation of the fact had him breaking out in cold sweat. To know that the man had indeed touch him at least once…Justin shuddered, his breath growing harsh and ragged around the edges as he tried to fight back the icy panic washing over his body.

Dropping his head, Justin closed his eyes and drew in several deep, measured breaths, focusing his mind on the counts of each breath in the hope of easing the turmoil in his mind. Leaning his head against Brian's arm, Justin stayed that way for another minute or two, drawing strength from his husband as Brian rubbed soothing circles on his back.

Inhaling sharply, Justin pulled away and picked up the sheaf of papers that had slipped out of his hands, determined to get through them.

_Dear Justin_

_Tonight was amazing; the feel of you beneath me. I never imagined that sex could feel this good; but with you it's transcendent. And God, the way you smelled; I'm so happy that you started using those products again. I never understood why you changed your shampoo and soap; it made you smell wrong. But now…_

"I can't…" Justin choked out, his voice thin and shaky even to his own ears; he shoved the rest of the pile away with wild eyes. "I can't read anymore. Jesus fuck; where is he getting this shit? I know for a fact that I have never had sex with this person."

Tak gathered up the papers and somberly stuffed them back into the folder; and Justin could see that the man was equally shaken by the contents. Justin clung to Brian's hands; and when he had grabbed them, he didn't know, but he needed something to ground him after reading that sick fuck's last letter. That he thought for even a second that he and Justin had any kind of…Justin shuddered and felt ill.

Licking his lips, he shakily grabbed the glass of water in front of him and took a long swallow, hoping that it would quell the urge to vomit.

"We think that he's referring to Blaine in that letter," Tak said quietly, reassuringly, as if he were trying to soothe Justin; but Justin didn't care that it wasn't actually him that the sick fuck was talking about. The fact that he was so delusional that reality and fantasy had blurred for him to that degree…it left Justin paralyzed with terror.

"As you recall," Tak continued as calmly as possible. "Your toiletries went missing after the loft break-in. Immediately after that, Wolf gifted Blaine with a set of toiletries and demanded that he use them each time they were together. It was also then that Blaine noticed that the lines of reality and fantasy started blurring for Wolf. He started calling him Justin all the time, and the blackout rages were becoming more frequent; and Wolf often entered an altered state of consciousness that left him dazed and disoriented and unable to recognize Blaine when he came out of them. It was what led Blaine to finally coming clean. He was scared that Wolf would hurt his sister."

"Fuck," Brian hissed, and then swore violently and creatively under his breath, his own body shaking and muscles coiled, as if ready to go on the attack as he kept Justin firmly clutched to his side. "And you don't have any idea where this asshole is?"

"Not yet," Tak said regretfully. "But we are still going through the evidence; hopefully something will turn up."

"What about his mail?" Justin asked a touch desperately; after all, if the guy had been living there for a while, surely there had to be some sort of mail delivery where they could get this assholes name. "Surely that could have given you a name."

"There was nothing there," Tak said unhappily. "And according to a couple of people that knew him, he had his mail sent to either a PO Box or another residence as he always brought it home with him."

"Why does this asshole always seem to be one step ahead of us?" Brian spat, his hands clutching tightly around Justin's, making Justin cry out as they pinched and Brian relax his grip, swiping his thumb over the bruised skin.

"He's hidden for a long time," Tak said, his own frustration bleeding through for a moment. "And he's gotten _very_ good at making sure that he's not found. But, we _are_ closing in on him; he's been making mistakes recently as he escalates and it's only a matter of time before we pin him down."

Justin nodded; he knew that. Tak had mentioned it several times; pointing out that his stalker had been actively stalking him for at least a couple of years, if not more. And that they didn't know why he had waited so long to escalate. He only hoped that now that the asshole had, they'd get him the fuck away from him and his family.

Scrubbing a hand over his head, Justin stared at the pictures on the table blankly and tuned the continuing conversation between Tak and Brian out; he didn't think that he could handle anymore. His mind was on overload and he really needed to process what he'd been told before he took in more. Plus, he knew that Brian would fill him in if they covered anything important while he was checked out.

Sighing, Justin continued to study the photos; or really, one in particular. Something about this picture disturbed him, but he couldn't place just why. He pulled the picture over to him and studied it carefully, his eyes taking in every detail and then widening as he realized what had caught his eye. Inhaling sharply, Justin picked up the photo and pulled it closer to his eyes, trying to make sure he was seeing what he was really seeing.

And when he discovered he was, a chill slid down his back; he looked up to find Tak and Brian quiet and watching him with twin concerned frowns.

"Uh, not to get too off track," Justin said in a strangled tone as he set the photo down on the table. "But I have a question."

"What's that?" Tak ask, looking at the picture as well.

"Where was this picture taken?" Justin asked, pointing to the picture in question, which showed a table top covered in papers, pictures and other things.

"That was in his apartment," Tak said, spinning the picture around to look at it; but Justin didn't expect him to catch what was wrong with it. "It's of a table near your shrine."

"His apartment?" Justin muttered to himself, staring at the picture; or really, staring at the pictures on the table in the photo. "What the actual fuck?"

"Justin?" Brian asked as he grabbed the photo and began to study it. "What's wrong?"

"Take a good look at that picture, Brian," Justin said, growing more and more pissed by the second. "The table in particular; and tell me what you see."

"Uh, looks like a few receipts, some papers and a couple of pictures…." Brian said, ticking things off without much comprehension until he got to the last item and then he froze, staring at the photo in disbelief. "Son of a bitch! Is that a picture of...?"

"Yes," Justin hissed, beyond pissed now; it was one thing that this asshole had pictures of him out and about; and it was an entirely other thing altogether that he had pictures of the inside of Britin. That… _that_ was going too far. "Why…how…why the fuck does this asshole have pictures of my nursery!?"


	105. April 4 (Part One)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I'm finally posting this monster. First off, for those who missed the notes I made on the Facebook message boards, (either because you aren't part of the board, or the site doesn't have one), I apologize for the delay in getting this chapter out. This particular POV has always been difficult for me to write from the beginning as I just find the characters thoughts repugnant; but then to write over seven thousand words from that POV is...I don't have the words. I had to take frequent breaks in order to get this out because I honestly felt ill to my stomach due to some of the stalkers thoughts. So, as always, a warning for a repugnant person being an unfeeling, repugnant person. And once again, please forgive me for the delay.

**April 4 (Part One)**

He scowled and muttered under his breath as he watched the frenetic activity around the house while his beloved and his two male sidekicks laughed and joked around through the telescoping lens of his camera. From what little he'd gathered, they were packing the car for his beloved's and the bastard's impromptu trip to New York due to the reappearance of that Novotny scum; and he was pissed about it. Leave it to that whiney, sniveling, little weasel to unwittingly fuck up his plans even further; like he didn't have enough to worry about with Blaine missing and that bitch demanding yet more money.

Something really needed to be done about him and the other two; and fast before his bumbling, and their continued meddling, couldn't interfere with all of his carefully laid plans. Not that the bitch knew of his true plans; she just thought he was a fan that wanted to emulate the great Justin Taylor and it amused her to get what he needed. 'For a nominal and fair price,' of course. If she only knew.

Although, he couldn't see her being too heartbroken if he managed to pull everything off. She, along with the weasel, had been trying to oust his beloved from the bastard's life from the moment that he'd stepped foot into it, the jealous bitch. She couldn't shut up about how Justin was slowly taking over her spot and she was not happy about it in the least. It had taken every ounce of his restraint to not slap the bitch silly for the things that she said about his beloved. If anyone was a gold-digging hack, it was her.

But he'd persevered and managed to bit his tongue, nodding and humming sympathetically in all the right places; and all the while he'd internally rolling his eyes because she'd shown him her etchings once and she didn't have even a quarter of his beloved's talent. It was a means to an end. She was close enough to his object of affection and could get into places he couldn't. And it had worked perfectly.

He'd paid for her services; she'd managed to get what he needed before his beloved interrupted, and then sent them on so that everything would be in place when the time came. Except, she was now threatening to tell his beloved about the pictures and his perceived stealing if he didn't cough up another payment for her silence. And truthfully, he would love to silence her permanently if for no other reason than her mere existence annoyed him, but he had to be careful about it. He'd already drawn enough attention to himself with his rash actions at the loft.

Not that he remembered a good deal of it. Once he'd seen the picture of his beloved and the bastard leaning against the wall, he'd seen red and he didn't remember much after that; he'd come to several miles away, sleeping in some dingy motel that rented by the hour. But he'd heard through the grapevine that the loft had been destroyed, and all signs led to him as the culprit given he'd been in there just before it happened.

That had been irritating. He had only meant to leave a note, warning Kinney away from his beloved after watching the way he'd reeling his beloved blond back into his web. It was supposed to be a quick in and out job with nothing but the note left behind. But then he'd seen that painting of his beloved, naked and curled around that asshole, and he'd lost it, grabbing the painting and then…it was a blank.

Shaking his head to clear it from the gathering rage the memory produced, he inhaled sharply and turned his mind back to his current predicament. What to do with the whiney weasel and the backstabbing bitch? They needed to be neutralized before they had the chance to completely derail his plans; he couldn't afford anymore setbacks.

The backstabbing bitch should be easy to deal with; all he had to do was work with what he had. He wondered just how well she'd survive Kinney's wrath if evidence of their little business deal surfaced to just the right person. She was already persona non grata due to her avaricious actions with the art critic. Add this little bit frosting to the cake and she'd be in a whole lot of trouble and have much more important issues worry about – like staying out of prison – to that she'd soon forget her little blackmail scheme.

The whiny weasel though; he was tougher to deal with as he was like a fucking cockroach – he just wouldn't die no matter what was thrown his way. He'd thought that he'd gotten through the little asshole when he'd beat the shit out of him and left him broken and bruised after he'd placed his beloved in the hospital. He'd been certain he'd seen the writing on the wall when Kinney banished him from his life.

But the little insect just had to come scurrying back just as his plans were reaching fruition, sending his beloved and his ever present protector running for a different state. This needed to be nipped in the bud before everything was destroyed; but the question was how to go about it. If Kinney banishing him from his life and all but telling him that he should stay in the Seattle since he wasn't welcome, he didn't know what would get through that concrete slab that was his skull.

So, it was obvious that threats wouldn't work on him; that was only likely to send him scurrying to bosom of his family – what was left of it – whining for them to fix the problem, rather than have him running back to where he belonged.

But, perhaps a minor accident that hindered his movement could work; it couldn't be too egregious, even if the world _would_ be a better place without his incessant whining. And it couldn't happen here. If he were too injured, he'd have to stay here and would again be a thorn in his side as he tried to interfere with their relationship; and while he was all for him trying to break his beloved and the bastard apart, he knew that it wouldn't work. Kinney was on to him and it would just make the overprotective bastard that much more vigilant in keeping his beloved away from aggravating situations.

That wouldn't work out in his favor.

But a small accident while he was back in Seattle, one that led to a minor hospitalization; _and_ _afterwards_ , would leave him on crutches or in a chair and unable get back and forth so easily…that wouldn't be remiss and could be very beneficial to his plans.

He smiled coldly, his heart racing and body tingling with anticipation at the thought; God, how he'd wanted to end that nuisance years ago, when he'd seen the way he treated his beloved. It was better than the annoying, little insect would've deserved; miraculously he'd managed to restrain himself and let him dig his own grave, as he did it so well.

Well, that was something to think of after this weekend; for now he needed to find out just what the plans were and he knew that his beloved's sidekicks were nosy enough to pry the information out of him. Hopefully with some idea of where they would be his plans would not all be for naught. Tuning back into the conversation, he only had to wait a few minutes before the Queen turned a sly look his beloved's way.

_"So, Mr. Taylor-Kinney," Emmett said, a teasing smile spreading across his lips. "Any big plans while you and Big Bad are traipsing around_ _New York_ _?"_

_"Traipsing?" his beloved laughed and rubbed his belly a bit ruefully; and he couldn't help hissing at the thought of Kinney laying claim to his beauty and the child he bore before he could claim them. "There will be no traipsing for me. I can barely get through a simple shopping trip without getting exhausted these days. There is no way I'd ever survive one of Brian's power shops. That's why he has Liam, thank God."_

_"So, no plans at all?" Blake asked, handing his infant son off to his beloved; he was fairly certain that the child's name Lou or Duke or something like that._

_"Well, obviously, we'll be spending time with Daphne, Liam and Kian while we're there," Justin said as he lifted the baby to his shoulder and began to sway back and forth. "I know that we plan to have dinner at theirs on Friday night; and if I know Daph, she'll be trying all night to get us to spend the night."_

_"Of course she will," Emmett snorted as he lifted a bag into the SUV. "I don't even know why you bothered with having them get the loft ready for your arrival; you know she's going to do her best to keep you there. She misses you as much as you miss her."_

He fumed hearing that; yet another interfering bitch that should have been put in her place a long time ago. He remembered Daphne very well; the best friend that had made his life a living hell on the times he'd interacted with her. She'd always taken great delight in pointing out to those who had hoped to win his beloved's heart that they never stood a chance; had gleefully espoused that no one could compete with the bastard as he had stolen Justin's heart the night they met.

Thankfully she resided in New York and couldn't interfere like the others had; it was the only reason she hadn't been dealt with before now.

_"We got it ready because I want at least one night alone with my husband," Justin said, garnering his attention once more; and he couldn't help sneering at the thought of that asshole touching his beloved. He grit his teeth and it took everything he had not to march over there and claim his love. Soon. "And well, I love Daph; but having her and Kian sleeping just down the haul is not conducive to my sex life."_

_"I'm surprised you still want to have sex at this point," Blake admitted as he dug though the diaper bag sitting on the seat of the SUV and passed a pacifier to Justin. "I know that once I reached my seventh month, I didn't want to be touched most of the time."_

_"Please," Emmett smirked, tossing another bag into the back of the SUV; Justin stuck his tongue out at the other man. "Baby and Big Bad not wanting to have sex? That would be one of the signs of the coming apocalypse."_

_"Point," Blake tittered, grabbing a small carry-on at his feet and storing it into the backseat of the SUV and then hung a garment bag on the hook in the back._

_"Well, we have slowed down since the bump has gotten bigger," Justin admitted with a mournful sigh, once again patting his stomach._

_"So, what; only once a day?" Emmett drawled, arching a single brow and snickering as Justin flipped him off for his temerity; and then he yelped when the latter swatted him firmly on the arm._

_"You make it sound like we're sex fiends," Justin huffed and rolled his eyes, still maintaining his gentle rocking motion in an effort to put the baby to sleep._

_"You are," Blake smirked, nimbly dodging out of the way when Justin reached out to swat him as well. "Seriously, Justin; most couples don't have sex three times a day."_

_"Can I help it that I have a high sex drive and a sexy husband with an equally high sex drive?" Justin asked in a haughty tone, but he could see he was teasing by the sparkle in his eyes; he sighed and zoomed in on his beloved's face, quickly snapping a picture to capture the look on his face. And then he snapped two more before zooming out a bit._

_"You are well matched," Emmett hummed, closing the hatch on the SUV. "I'll give you that; I just don't see how you can sit with as much sex as you two have."_

_"Well, there isn't always penetration," Justin smirked, laughing when Emmett and Blake rolled their eyes and made a face. "God no; I'd never survive it if that were the case. But there are other ways to pleasure one another that doesn't include that. And we have always been very creative and adventurous."_

_"Point," Emmett admitted, leaning against the SUV with his arms crossed over his chest while Blake slowly repacked the baby's diaper bag._

_"Plus, I think Brian is up to something," Justin hummed, shifting the baby over onto his other shoulder as he walked towards Blake's car. "He was very insistent on staying at the loft on Saturday night; so, who am I to interfere with his scheming?"_

_"Really?" Emmett said as he pushed off the SUV and made his way over to the other car. "Well, you'll have to tell us all about it when you get back."_

 

After that, the conversation degenerated into guesses as too what the asshole was planning for that Saturday; each wilder than the last, leaving them all laughing uproariously as Justin tried to soothe baby back into sleep. His heart ached as he watched his beloved coo and sing to the baby, his face bright with love and tenderness as he gazed into that little face.

He zoomed in again and snapped a few photos for his new wall, still pissed that he had abandon his other one in favor of a quick getaway when the police had arrived. Luckily, he had already been in transport between that place and his new one when he'd found the place blocked off and surrounded by the bumbling idiots.

But soon it wouldn't be an issue as his beloved would be with him and there was no way that they could trace hi new place to him, even if they did find out his identity. The new place wasn't in his name, but that of his step-mother. And hadn't that been a sweet thing for her to do? Leaving him the keys and the use of the place before she'd taken off with dear old dad's business partner? And thus, ensuring that he'd had his freedom from the ever-present noose around his neck while he'd been living in his father's home?

She must have really loved sticking it to the old man.

Crouching down, he quickly packed up his camera and slung the bag over his shoulder, quickly and quietly making his way through the woods, easily blending in with the foliage as he'd been taught to do when his father had taken him hunting. At least he had been good for one thing. And thirty minutes later he entered his step-mother's house, hidden deep in the wood and serendipitously located within easy reach of his beloved; and very likely forgotten about by most of her former neighbors.

**… … … … …**

 

Everything was falling apart around him.

He paced the length of the living room in his new home; the one that had once been his step-mother's, the one that he'd hoped would one day soon be his and Justin's, but nothing had gone right in the past few weeks. How could he have been so foolish? How did he not notice that he'd dropped _that_ as he was making his way through the woods? He was usually so cognizant of his surroundings, not wanting one to find evidence of his dialing walks to keep an eye on his beloved until he could safely house him.

And now, that could all be ruined due to a single mistake on his part.

Fuck!

If they found it…there was no way to hide his presence any longer; he'd be completely and utterly fucking screwed as they would know in an instant that he was closer to them than they thought. And that would be a fucking travesty.

Sucking in a harsh breath, he fisted his hands into his hair and yanked, trying to quell the icy rise of panic welling inside of him; this was _not_ how it was supposed to go. He couldn't believe that he had made such a beginners mistake by accidentally leaving that behind; not only giving away his favorite observation spot, but also, depending on where he'd dropped it, the location of his hideaway.

But he had.

And now the woods were going to be swarming with security, making it that much more difficult for him to get close to his beloved. Fucking Kinney! This was his fault! If he hadn't gotten between him and Justin at such a pivotal time, he would be the one with his arms around the beautiful blond, and it would be his child that Justin was carrying. It always came back to that _asshole_ in the end. He, and the spell that he'd cast over his beloved, was the single cause of everything wrong in his life.

He really needed to get that fucker out of his and Justin's life.

Whipping around, he picked up the nearest thing and hurled it against wall, a small, satisfied smile sliding over his lips as it shattered into several pieces on impact. Staring, unseeingly, at the broken object near the wall and recalled the painting in the loft, shredded to ribbons, and the frame lying broken on the ground, utterly broken and destroyed; just as he hoped Kinney would be one day.

He rolled his neck to release some tension and then sighed; he'd needed that.

Inhaling deeply, he shook his head clear it and then resumed his frantic pacing, trying to figure out what he could do to rectify the situation; or at least what he could do that he hadn't already tried, like backtracking into the woods to find the missing item. Sadly, he had barely gotten into the woods when he heard voices echoing through out it, and he hadn't wanted to chance the discovery of his little nook. So, he'd quickly retreated and hoped that it hadn't been discovered until he could get out there and look around; but he wasn't holding out much hope.

With the way things had been going for the past month or two, he had a bad feeling that time was running out for him; which is why he needed to act fast.

How had this happened?

He'd planned everything so meticulously once he had finally broken free of his jailer, a.k.a his father; it should have jelled the way it did when he first conceived of the plan all those months ago when he'd first .heard of the bastard desecrating his beloved.

 

_He shut the door and made sure that it was locked, and then quickly jogged down the stairs on the side of the house, leading from the apartment above the garage to the side-yard gate, and consequently, the entrance to his place. He had been living there for a year now, ecstatic that he was so close to Liberty Avenue and all the places that his beloved frequented on an almost daily basis. That he'd fund the little house had been an accident and felt a bit like serendipity; like it was meant to be._

_He had been walking through the neighborhood, on the way to his bus stop after having spent the day watching his love give a class at the GLC when he'd stumbled onto Mary; or Marion as she'd introduced herself then. He'd seen her struggling with a large, heavy box and had quickly made his way over to help her; and once they'd gotten to talking, she'd mentioned wanting to rent out the bachelor's apartment over the garage. And since he desperately wanted to get out from under his father's thumb, he'd mentioned that he was looking for a place and three weeks later, he'd moved in._

_It let him be central to all of the main places that his beloved was often spotted with the exception of the house in_ _West Virginia_ _. And he liked it that way._

_Walking over to the gate, he paused as he caught a small strand of conversation coming from the front yard. Carefully unlatching the gate so that it wouldn't make any sound, he opened it a crack and found Mary and her niece or granddaughter or whatever, talking about Justin and Brian as they weeded the flower beds. He strained his ears to figure out what they were saying, but could only catch the odd word or two._

_Pulling the gate open, he stepped out with a smile, waving to and greeting the two women as he walked over to them. They exchanged pleasantries for a few minutes before he dove into the topic that had caught his attention._

_"So, I didn't mean to eavesdrop," he said, forcing a flush onto his cheeks as he smiled at Mary. "But I couldn't help overhearing you mention a Brian Kinney and Justin Taylor as I was opening the gate; and I wondered if everything was okay. It's just that, I knew Justin back in the day and have been wanting to get back in touch with him, but I've been hesitant to approach him as we didn't leave things well."_

_"Oh, Justin," Mary gushed, smiling widely as she dismissed his concerns with a wave of her hand. "I doubt you'd have to worry. He's such a sweet, lovely boy; and he and his partner make such a beautiful couple."_

_"Yeah, he was always very nice when I knew him," he said, just barely holding back a grimace of disgust at the latter part of Mary's comment. "So, if you don't mind my asking; how do you know Justin? It's just; I've never seen him visit here…?"_

_"Oh, you wouldn't have either," Mary prattled on, working through her flower beds as her granddaughter huffed and got up to empty her bucket of weeds into the compost pile. "I met him through his husband, Brian Kinney. Although, I suppose it's Taylor-Kinney these days. I've worked for Mr. Brian for years, and was quite surprised when he suddenly had this cute as a button blonde living with him; but I also couldn't have been happier for it as, although they had a rocky start, I've never seen two people more in love. I was so happy when the two of them finally stopped playing around and finally got married. They complement each so well and I truly believe that they are soul mates."_

_"Yeah, I suppose," he murmured, his stomach curdling at the thought of the asshole being Justin's soul mate; if anyone was meant to be with the beautiful blond, it was him. Not that he said that out loud; he didn't want Mary to take offense and stop talking. Still, he couldn't help getting in at least one shot on the asshole. "I always heard that Brian was fucking around on him."_

_"Oh no," Mary huffed, shaking her head vehemently. "They may have had an open relationship in the beginning; but once Justin returned from_ _New York_ _for their wedding, they stopped that immediately. They're so devoted to each other. And then when I heard that the sweet boy was pregnant; well, I couldn't be happier for them. They will make such beautiful babies."_

_And that made him pause, ice dripping down his spine and chilling his blood as he stared at the older woman's back. She was blissfully unaware that she'd just shattered his world, but based on the smirk on her granddaughter's or niece's or whatever the fuck she was face, she had some inkling as to his feelings. He clenched his hands at his side and gritted his teeth, decidedly sick to his stomach at the announcement._

_"Pregnant?" he managed to choke out between clenched teeth, utterly surprised that his voice sounded so even to his ears when he was ready hurl._

_"Oh, yes," Mary prattled blithely onwards as she dumped out her bucket of weeds. "I was cleaning the other day when they came to the loft to celebrate and they couldn't wait to share the news; they were beyond ecstatic. But it is all hush-hush for the moment as they told me they wouldn't be announcing it to their friends and family until Christmas. I can't wait to see them. Such beautiful babies they'd make."_

_He had remain silent, swallowing the bile in the back of his throat, as he didn't trust himself not to say something cold and hateful about the idea of his beloved swollen with another man's child; especially **that** man. But he didn't have time to dwell on it; especially with Mary watching him oddly. He shook his head and smiled charmingly at her, dismissing any concerns with a wave of his hand._

_"So you do the cleaning for them?" he asked, the beginnings of an idea germinating in his head as she nodded and went back to her work._

_"Oh, yes," Mary chattered on, prepping the beds for winter. "I've been with Brian for years; I've cleaned for him since he bought the loft. Such a rapscallion he was at that age; but oh-so-charming so he got away with it. I was so happy when Justin came into his life and set that scamp on his ear. That sweet boy had his number from the beginning; and the strength and the wherewithal to hold on over the years as Brian bucked and fought the pull between them. I was so happy when Justin came home from_ _New York_ _and finally put that scamp out of his misery by marrying him."_

_"Hmmmm…" he hummed absently, his stomach in knots as he tried to deal with the reality of Justin's pregnancy. He had been too late. That asshole was never going to let him go now. Well, he'd see about that. "I'm surprised that you still clean the loft; I heard they were living in West Virginia these days."_

_"That is true," Mary nodded as she began to put her tools away. "I only go there every other Thursday to dust and make sure everything is kept up, unless they call the service or me to let me know that they have used the loft and it needs a cleaning."_

_"Oh, well," he murmured, desperate to get out of there and see his beloved; he needed to set things right before it was too late for them both. "That makes sense; like I said, sorry to eavesdrop. I just overheard Justin's name and couldn't help myself. We knew each other years ago, but weren't able to keep touch due to circumstances beyond my control. And I'd love the chance to reconnect though; I suppose I'll see if I can track him down at Woody's or_ _Babylon_ _."_

_"I doubt you'll find him there these days," Mary laughed; and then she mimed a pregnant belly with her hand when he shot her a puzzled look._

_"Right, the pregnancy," he said, internally grimacing at the unneeded reminder; already things were changing and taking his beloved away from him. That was unacceptable._

_"Your best bet would be the diner," Mary offered up with a smile as she headed for her front door. "The boys tend to eat there quite often with their friends. That or at the café down the street are favorite haunts."_

_"Thanks for the heads up," he said with a tight smile, already turning in that direction; he had to talk to Justin. This couldn't be happening; why would Justin betray him in such a manner? "I should probably get going. Work."_

_"Of course," Mary said waving as she entered the house. "See you later, dear."_

 

It was in that moment that he knew the reason why he was there; he was meant to save his beloved from himself before Justin could fall even deeper under Kinney's spell. He _needed_ to rescue him the man he loved and protect him from the likes of Kinney and others of his ilk before the dragged his beauty down with them. It was why he'd survived the accident and why found his beloved again all these years later.

And he had been so close to accomplishing it; it had been in his grasp despite the art show set back. But even that, he now understood had been necessary so he had the chance to finish the home he'd built for his beloved. It just needed that one last pièce de résistance to make his home complete and luckily, in a fit of pique, that petty bitch had been more than happy to provide him with that last link.

And now, because people were getting a little squeamish or greedy or due to his own fucking incompetence, discovery was breathing down his neck and he couldn't allow that to happen. He was so close to obtaining his heart's desire, only to have it swept away because his backstabbing lover; and all because he'd had gotten a little angry when the man had had the effrontery to question his motives and actions.

What did he know about true love; he was just jealous that he would never aspire to the perfection that was Justin and tried to part them. And did he ever let him know that _that_ would never happen so long as he drew breath, and made sure he understood it. Sadly, all the details were a bit fuzzy as he'd blacked out; all he knew was that it had sent the backstabbing bastard on the run, leaving a cheap imitation in his place.

 

_He headed to the residential hotel on his typical Saturday night, convinced that he'd made his wishes and expectations clear to the little asshole who'd had the nerve to question him and his desires. Blaine had known what he'd planned to do and had agreed to everything, eager to be the one to mend Kinney's heart when Justin eventually left him for greener pastures. And now he'd had the effrontery to chastise him for not knowing about the pregnancy from the beginning? He thought not._

_Besides, what did the pregnancy mean in the end? It was a parasite, siphoning off of his beloved and tying him to that bastard. So what if something happened to the child? It wasn't as if he weren't perfectly capable of filling that hole with a child of their own._

_But when he'd said that, the overly-sensitive, sentimental sap had looked at him with horror, and then had the sheer gall to tell him that he was having no part of murder. And he's snapped and had to lay down the law. After all, you can't murder a parasite; it was, by its own definition, a being that fed on its host, deriving nutrients at its host's expense._

_And he was saving his beloved from that fate; why couldn't_ _Blaine_ _see that?_

_Striding down the hall of the residential motel, he arrived at his intended destination and pounded on the door, certain that_ _Blaine_ _would've finally come to his senses and accepted that this was the right path. Humming under his breath, he frowned when_ _Blaine_ _didn't answer the door immediately. He raised his hand to knock once more, but halted when he heard the door knob rattling, and then stared in confusion as a short, bottle-blond with dark brown roots and gray eyes answered the door._

_"Who the fuck are you?" he demanded, staring incomprehensively at the stranger in the door way who was in no way, shape or form_ _Blaine_ _. And then he became angry, wondering why the fuck_ _Blaine_ _would have someone over on his day!_

_"Uh…Jake?" the stranger said, his brow pinching as he peered out the door with no little amount of bewilderment._

_"Jake?" He pursed his lips into a thin, white line as his eyes raked over the intruder; he would have to nip this in the bud and fast. There was no way in hell that he would allow_ _Blaine_ _to treat him this way. "What the fuck are you doing here? Where is_ _Blaine_ _?"_

_"Who's_ _Blaine_ _?" Jake asked, still staring at him in confusion._

_"_ _Blaine_ _," he stated slowly, as if her were talking to a child; so_ _Blaine_ _didn't even warn this guy that he might show. Pathetic. "The guy that lives here with his sister, Addy?"_

_"I don't know who or what you're talking about," Jake shrugged and shook his head, completely unconcerned by his appearance. "But I'm guessing that those were the previous tenants. I just moved in here today when the vacancy came up. I was living in the motel down the road when I overheard that the room became available."_

_And then the insolent asshole shrugged for a second time and made to shut the door in his face. The unbelievable nerve of this guy! Like he actually believed that_ _Blaine_ _wasn't in there, cowering like the wuss that he was and letting this guy be his mouthpiece. Well, fuck that; it was time to bring his foolish, little blond cohort back into line, staring with removing this pathetic –looking asshole from his life._

_"You're lying!" he hissed, sticking his foot into the door before it could shut and shoving it open, making the other man stumble backwards, allowing him to push his way in. "Where is Blaine, you little asshole!? Is he cleaning up after fucking you? Or perhaps he was a good little bottom boy and you fucked him instead!?"_

_"Look, dude," Jake huffed, skittering nervously out of his way. "I don't know who you're talking about; there is no one in the room, but me. But, I'm sure if you go to the office they could tell you if this_ _Blaine_ _guy has left or just switched rooms or what."_

_He sneered at the sniveling runt; a cold smile sliding over his face at how utterly easy it had been to cow his cohort's so-called protector. Jake squirmed and backed slowly towards the door with a panicked look on his face; he relished the fear lurking in his eyes and stalked him slowly, showing him just who was in charge here._

_And that's when he noticed it._

_He halted mid-step and spun in a slow circle, taking in the room at large as an icy sense of dread washed over him – everything looked different. The pull out couch was made up, instead being made up for fucking, the other bed in the room was rumpled, but there was no pink and purple sheets or fluffy, accent pillow piled in a mound on the floor to show that a young girl shared the room. The knick knacks and books and computer and other odds and ends that had made the room look lived in were missing. In fact, it was cold, stark and bare of all hints of habitation outside the few articles of clothing hanging up in the closet, and none were familiar._

_And then inside him snapped; he took a step back, reeling at the evidence in front of him, yet couldn't help shaking his head vehemently in denial. No, no, no, no, no! This wasn't happening! There was no way that his beloved would disappear on him! Justin would not do this to him again. He wouldn't leave him again! He wouldn't! this was all a lie! A lie perpetrated Kinney and enacted by this pathetic waste of space in front of him._

_He spun on this so-called Jake, his chest heaving as he struggled to breath, and his hands trembling as he struggled to hold onto the rein of his temper. He knew that if he exploded now, he'd never find his love and save him from Kinney's thrall._

_"You get Justin out here right now!" he demanded, pointing at the insignificant twink that was likely placed there in order to fool him; but just because he was blonde, didn't mean that he could ever replace his beloved! No one could replace Justin! "I will not have him interacting with the likes of you and that devil spawn Kinney!"_

_"Justin?" Jake scrambled out of reach once more and quickly headed for the door, staring at him as if he'd developed another head. But he wasn't fooled by the act; this insignificant being knew where his beloved was and he'd get it out of him yet. "Who is Justin? I thought you were looking for_ _Blaine_ _?"_

_Narrowing his eyes, he stalked towards the fake-blond, with his gray eyes; as if he'd ever believe that this imposter was Justin. Kinney was slipping if he thought he'd be fooled by these games. And then the panicked twink flicked his eyes over to the bathroom door for a split second and he smiled coldly. So, that's where this fraud had stashed his beloved. He spun on his heel and headed over to the door, calling for his beloved, and worrying when he didn't answer._

_"Justin!" He tried the door, but it was sticking; so he pounded on it instead. "Justin! Are you in there!? Please, talk to me baby; let me know you're okay!"_

_"Look, asshole," Jake spat, walking towards him a couple of steps, his eyes narrowed and lips compressed. "I told you that this Blaine or Justin guy isn't here!"_

_"Justin!" He called again, wriggling the door knob until it finally gave; he crowed triumphantly, barged into the small room and then paused, staring at the empty room in confusion. He had been so sure that was where the asshole had stashed him. And then it struck him; it had been a trick! Likely to give Kinney the opportunity to spirit his beloved away and hide him. He spun on his heel and stalked out of the bathroom. "Where is he!? Where is my Justin you asshole!? If you've done anything to him…"_

_"He's not here!" Wanna-be-twink hissed, his eyes widening as he stalked towards him. Ready to wring his neck for parting him of from his beloved; he stumbled backwards, once more making his way to the door and potential escape; but not this time. He wasn't letting the little bastard get away with this. "If you don't get the fuck out of here now; I'll call the fucking cops, you fucking psycho!"_

_And then he saw red; because who was this little twerp to threaten him!? He advanced on him, his vision hazing, graying around the edges, as a slow, burning poison rushed, through his veins, scorching him from the inside out as he grabbed the interloper by the shirt, lifted him slowly off of his feet and flung him against the wall._

_After that, everything went black._

_When he finally came to, he was standing over a blonde, bloody and crumpled form, lying face down on the floor in front of Justin's apartment. He shook, his knees going weak as he stared at the crumpled form and raised hands, an anguished cry echoing through the hall as blood coated his gloved hands. And then he lowered then and stumbled towards the blond, remorse filling him as he reached out one hand._

_"Justin?" he whispered hoarsely, his voice thick with tears, and his heart thundering in his ears as his hand hovered over the fallen blonde's shoulder. "Baby, are you okay?"_

_And then he heard the rattling of a door. Surging to his feet, he cast one last look over at the crumpled blonde, a relieved part of him noting the dark roots that said this couldn't be his beloved, and then he ran down the hall and quickly made his way down the stairs as a male voice filled the hall behind him._

_"What the hell is going on out here? Sir? Sir!? Are you okay, sir1? Hey, Jerry, call an ambulance; the new guy has been assaulted."_

_Part of him wanted to go back and protest the words; to tell them that it has been the blonde's own fault for getting between him and Justin. But he knew that if he did, the police would just lock him up and throw away the key as Kinney had an in with them due to his father in all, but name. In fact, he wouldn't be surprised if this had been Kinney's plan all along. No way was he going to fall for that trap._

 

He stood in the middle of his living room; keening at the loss of his love, at the being so viciously torn from his side once again, just when he'd almost had him within his grasp. He wrapped his arms around his middle and stared at all the loving details he'd added to show Justin that he only wanted what was best for him. That he only wanted to love and worship him like he deserved to be loved and worshiped.

Oh, he knew that Justin would fight it at first; after all, he was still under Kinney's thrall. But he knew, given time and space; that he'd grow to love their little home in the woods, sheltered and secluded from the world. A place safe from those that wished to harm and separate them, a place where he could work out the poison that was Kinney's love and come to realize that they were meant to be. And eventually he'd stop mourning the loss of the parasite, especially when he filled his beloved's womb with children of their own.

It was best this way; no need for reminders of Kinney's unhealthy influence in his life.

He walked over toward the door, and headed to the nursery, intent on it being up and ready when he finally rescued his beloved; and the he halted and let out a startled cry. He walked towards the wall and was saddened to see that the delicate cradle that he had been working on earlier in the day was now lying on the floor, shattered in several pieces. He picked it up and studied it, relieved to see that it wasn't irreparable.

"I'll fix it," he muttered under his breath. "I'll fix it all."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **FYI:** This is unedited and not beta'd; so forgive me for my mistakes. I just couldn't deal with this chapter anymore. I hope to have it looked over by tomorrow and will re-post the cleaned up version then. I just wanted to get this out asap due to the long delay between chapters.


	106. April 4 (Part Two)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay first off, I wanted to apologize for my disappearance. Unfortunately, I unexpectedly had some technical issues that didn't get resolved until last Friday. But I am back and still working on this story. 
> 
> Secondly, this story will now be posting on Sundays and Wednesdays instead of every other day as I'm swamped at the moment. I'd love to do it more often, but at this time, I can't commit to more than that and still work on my other stuff. 
> 
> Third, this part is unbeta'd as my betas went to bed before I was done; hopefully I'll have the beta'd version up tomorrow. 
> 
> Finally, as always, thanks for your support and I hope you continue to enjoy the story.

**April 4 (Part Two)**

Brian stifled another yawn and blinked in an effort to keep his sight from blurring around the edges; he glanced over at his couch and again debated taking a cat nap, but then shook his head and turned back to the pile on his desk. He had too much to do before he and Justin left for New York and would have plenty of time to catch on the sleep he was lacking this coming weekend.

Pinching the bridge of his nose as another wave of fatigue washed over him, he groaned aloud and cursed Justin's penchant for midnight snacking. Whenever his husband gave into a craving in the middle of the night, it always spelled bad things for Brian. Namely, Brian was awakened an hour or so later by a groaning Justin in the throes of indigestion. You would have thought that Justin would have learned not to eat after midnight by now; but he mulishly persisted, claiming the baby wanted what it wanted, when it wanted it and he was not one to deny his Sunbeam.

Irritating, indulgent brat.

And since it was nearly half past four before Justin fell asleep again, and Brian had to be awake in about thirty minutes anyways, he'd said fuck it, got up and decided to get ready for work. He could always use an extra half-hour of quiet, busy time in the empty office before everyone else came in and shot to it hell. Well, empty of everyone except for his apparently sadistic assistant, who decided to come in early and scare the living shit out of him. Yasmeen either knew him far too well or Justin told her he was going to in early.

Either way, he'd nearly jumped out of his skin when she came blowing in at six, a veritable whirlwind of efficiency and cheer, with an extra large latte and a breakfast sandwich for him. And then proceeded to threaten his balls if he didn't eat every last crumb, because ' _one can't live on fucking coffee alone._ ' Her words.

One of these days, people were going to remember that he was the boss around here. Until then, his life was ruled by meddlesome twats and interfering women.

.

_Brian leaned his head against the desk and was regretting his life choices at the moment. Staying awake and working while his husband was snuggled safe and warm in their loft bed seemed like a good idea at the time; but now, falling down tired due to the brat's bitching and moaning half the night, he wished he'd just stayed put for an additional hour or two. He really could use the sleep._

_Justin was so paying for his lack of sleep tonight._

_Closing his eyes, he briefly thought about giving up and going over to his couch to catch a nap. After all, it wasn't like he actually needed to be here. He could have taken the entire day off and slept in; there was nothing pressing that needed to be done before they left. He just hated leaving things open-ended before leaving for the weekend, much to Justin's everlasting annoyance some days._

_And since he was the only one in the office at this time, (well, except for his IT people; but he was pretty sure they never left their tech cave, so they didn't count), no one would walk in and see him snoozing. Sighing, Brian just laid there and had just about talked himself into giving into the pull of sleep when a loud and cheerful voice sounded from the end of his desk just as a cardboard cup was slammed down near his ear._

_"Good morning, Boss man!" Yasmeen sang, a smirk pasted onto her face as Brian snapped back into his chair, his hand covering his thundering heart. Sadistic bitch. "Here. An extra-large skinny latte with soy milk and a double-smoked bacon, cheddar and egg breakfast croissant. And you **will** eat it; and none of this bitching about the carbs and fat or Sunbeam won't have to worry about any younger siblings."_

_"Jesus fuck, woman," Brian groused, his breaths shallow and ragged as he tried to get his heart rate back under control. "Must you sneak up on me like that all the time?"_

_"If you weren't half-asleep at your desk," Yasmeen snickered, looking anything but sympathetic to his plight; why had he hired her again? Oh, that's right, **he** hadn't. Cynthia had, pronouncing that he needed a minder that he couldn't scare off in less than a week. Had he mentioned he was surrounded by meddlesome twats and interfering women? "You would have heard me coming. It's not like I was trying to be quiet."_

_"Yeah, yeah," Brian grumbled, glaring at his unimpressed personal assistant as he grabbed his coffee and took a long swallow. And then he closed his eyes in bliss as the sweet, caffeinated nectar of the Gods slid down his throat. God, he needed that. He opened his eyes and arched a brow as he watched Yasmeen add a stack of files to his desk. "What the hell are you doing here this early?"_

_"I had a feeling you would be in," Yasmeen shrugged as she added yet **another** stack of folders to the precarious stack. Fuck his life._

_Brian narrowed his eyes further as he continued sipping his latte and, again, had to wonder if she was there because she just knew him that well, or if his interfering twat of a husband had called her last night and told her that he'd be in at six-ish this morning. And then, he decided he didn't really want to know because it made his life easier just to accept that it was filled with people who thought he couldn't shit without assistance._

_"Late night?" Yasmeen teased, shaking him out of his reverie._

_"Don't I wish…" Brian muttered, and then sighed when Yasmeen shot him a questioning look. "Well, yes, just not in the way you're implying."_

_"Is everything okay?" Yasmeen asked, staring at him in concern, all levity gone._

_"You mean other than my idiot husband eating things he shouldn't and giving himself heartburn?" Brian bitched, grabbing his sandwich and taking a bite as he knew that she really would twist his balls into a knot if he didn't eat it. "Everything is fine."_

_"Oh no," Yasmeen said, her eyes sparkling with amusement as she had heard more than one horror story when it came to Justin's midnight munchies and the very painful aftermath. "Do I want to know what he was craving last night?"_

_"What do you think?" Brian asked caustically, rolling his eyes as he remembered watching in horror as his husband scarf the last of his concoction down last night._

_"Twinkies?" Yasmeen hazarded a guess, snorting when Brian nodded and rolled his eyes once more. Justin and his fucking Twinkies were going to be the death of him._

_"Worse," Brian groaned, rubbing a hand over his face as he recalled Justin's treat of choice; that had Emmett written all over it. "The twat managed to track down Twinkie Ice Cream of all things; and where the fuck he found that I have no idea."_

_"Twinkie Ice Cream?" Yasmeen asked, giving him a weird look; Brian held his hands in front of his chest in supplication and gave her an 'I-have-no-fucking-idea' look in return._

_"Yup," Brian said, popping the P at then end; and then he paused as he finished off his sandwich. Wiping his fingers on a napkin, he sighed and took a swig of his coffee before continuing with a pained grimace. "Ate the whole fucking gallon in one day."_

_"Ouch…" Yasmeen winced, obviously remembering that dairy and Justin hadn't been friends throughout his pregnancy; the much needed milk products often upset his stomach, leading to cramping and belching. Not that it stopped the twat from eating one of his favorite treats; he stubbornly persisted despite the agony it caused._

_"Of course," Brian groused, shuddering as he remembered what his idiotic husband had paired the ice cream with last night. "It also didn't help that he decided to follow the last of it with a Thai curry chaser at about two this morning."_

_"Sooooo….I'm guessing he wasn't very happy last night," Yasmeen said, understating the result of Justin's midnight binge eating by a long shot._

_"To say the least…" Brian huffed; he finished off his coffee and tossed the cup into the garbage as he shook his head. "Fucking twat…he is going to be the end of me yet."_

_"But what a way to go," Yasmeen quipped, smirking again as she headed towards the door. Brain sent her a sarcastic grin and pointed to the door._

_"Get the fuck out of my office," he commanded, once again wondering why the fuck he put with any of them as she just chuckled and sauntered out the door._

_._

Shaking his head, Brian looked longingly at the couch once more and then turned back to the boards he'd been studying for the past ten minutes with a frown. They were close, but not quite where he wanted them. There was just something about the color combination and it didn't work for him. Pulling the file up on his computer, he played with it a bit until the purple was closer to what he wanted; but then the scatter wasn't right.

Sighing, he made a few more tweaks until he was satisfied with it and then he sent it off to his art department. He then picked up the phone and dialed Murph's extension so that he could give verbal instructions as well, even as he was marking them on the boards themselves. He'd learned a long time ago to produce his changes in triplicate so that no one could say that they hadn't gotten his instructions. A leftover from his Vangard days.

"Murph," said the man in question as he picked up his line.

"Murph," Brian said as he looked over the file and boards once again; just to make sure there weren't any more changes needed. "It's Brian. I was looking over the boards for Nebula Cosmetics and want the following changes made. Bring the background purple up a couple of shades, and shift it so that the blue undertones are more prominent. Think more of a royal purple instead of eggplant. And change the gold to silver. We're supposed to be evoking a galaxy feel. Also, change the font to Georgia and bump it up to…let's see, make it twenty-point font. Once that's done, bring that to me mounted, with one cell per board on black, twenty-by-thirty foam core. Got that?"

Brian paused and waited as Murph muttered his instructions back to him under his breath, his pen audibly scratching in the background. "Bring the purple up a couple of shades; royal purple, silver scatter rather than gold, Georgia twenty-point font. One cell per board on twenty-by-thirty foam core."

"Yes," Brian said, nodding his head in agreement despite knowing the other man couldn't see him over the phone line.

"Got it," Murph said, his pen clattering to the desk over the line. "Anything else?"

"Once you have the changes made," Brian said, making a note of the changes on his computer and saving a copy to his files to check the boards against. "Bring the boards to my office as soon as possible; I want to go over the Amoré Dolce Gelato account."

"Will do," Murph chirped, making Brian roll his eyes; what was it with all the fucking cheerful people today? It was almost like they couldn't wait to get rid of him for the weekend. "I should be able to meet up with you in about an hour or so?"

"That will do," Brian said, hanging up the phone without a goodbye. And then he pressed the intercom on his desk, linking him to his assistant. "Yasmeen?"

"Yes," Yasmeen greeted absently, the muted clacking of keys coming over the intercom.

"Could you please send Murph in when he gets here?" Brian asked, grabbing yet another stack of folders that seemed to mysteriously multiply each time he left the office.

"Shouldn't you be leaving soon?" Yasmeen pointedly asked, the long-suffering sigh in her voice instantly putting Brian on alert.

"Our flight isn't until three," Brian stated, staring at the stack of folders on his desk suspiciously, now convinced that the devious women in his life were just giving him busy work to keep him out of their hair. "Plus, I have to wait until Justin comes back from the house since he dropped me off. Can you just please send in Murph when he gets here?"

"Sure thing, Boss man," Yasmeen chirped; Brian clenched his teeth and grimaced, the moniker grating on his nerves. He hadn't said anything earlier as he'd been far too tired to deal with it then, but this was so not happening.

"No," Brian groused, knowing exactly who Yasmeen had picked up the habit from and he needed to nip this in the bud **now**. "No; this isn't a thing that is happening. It's bad enough that Ted and Cynthia call me that; don't you start too."

"As you wish, Boss man," Yasmeen replied, undeterred; Brian could just hear the smirk in her voice as she signed off of the intercom.

"I'm going to kill Schmidt," Brian grumbled, rolling his eyes as he once again set to work, trying to whittle away at the growing tower of files on his desk. No fucking respect.

Brian sighed and managed to get about forty-five minutes of uninterrupted work done before the chief instigator, a.k.a. Cynthia, walked into his office. Brian looked up and arched a brow as she came to a standstill in front of his desk, tapping her toe with her hands on her hips. Oh, fuck. What the fuck did he do now?

"Brian…" Cynthia said in a measured tone; which told Brian that she was praying for patience. But for the life of him, he couldn't figure out what exactly that he'd done to put her into one of these moods. As far as he was aware, other than shouting at an artist or two when they couldn't fucking figure out the teal meant _teal_ and not sea fucking foam green, he'd been pretty well behaved. "Why are you still here?"

"I'm working?" Brian said, his tone lilting a touch in the end, making it more of a question than the statement he'd intended. He couldn't help staring at her as if she'd grown a second head as he thought it was pretty fucking obvious what he was doing.

"I thought you were leaving for New York today?" Cynthia demanded, pinching the bridge of her nose. Brian blew out a breath and sat back in his chair.

"We are," Brian stated mildly, still wondering what the fuck had crawled up her ass this time. Seriously, she needed to go out and get laid; and soon. _Before_ he ended up killing his greatest asset outside of Justin. "But our flight isn't until three and I wanted to finish up a few details before leaving for the weekend."

"We could have done all of… _this_ by ourselves," Cynthia said, gesturing to his covered desk with a single finger; once again confirming that Yasmeen had been giving him busy work to keep him out of hers and the art department's hair.

When the fuck had he lost control of his own damned company?

"I know," Brian said in an equally measured tone and fought the urge to roll his eyes; something he had been doing a lot of today. "But you know I'd be worried…"

"The entire point to this weekend is that it's supposed to be stress free," Cynthia unnecessarily pointed out; as if he wasn't well aware of why he and Justin were leaving Pittsburgh behind for the weekend. "Now leave."

"I can't leave," Brian huffed and really did roll his eyes at her demand this time.

"And why not?" Cynthia demanded as if he were her wayward child instead of her boss; seriously, what was it with him and bossy, fucking women in his life?

"Because Justin dropped me off and I'm waiting for him to come back and pick me up," Brian said as he resigned himself to this conversation. "And since I have to wait for Justin, what better use of my time is there?"

Cynthia huffed and then sat down in one of the chairs in front of his desk; they stared at each other for several long moments and Brian could almost feel her mentally willing him to leave. And he couldn't help wondering if he shouldn't be offended that everyone was doing their damnedest to force him out of the office; all he needed now was for Ted to show up and attempt to kick him out as well. Not that it'd work.

"How is Justin?" Cynthia finally asked with a bright smile on her face.

And that was a smile that terrified Brian on the best of days as he usually saw it just before Cynthia told him something or talked him into doing something he really did not like or want to do. But in this case, it related to Justin. Cynthia had always thought of Justin as the brother she'd never had since she was the firstborn of three girls. And Justin made everyone smile no matter how worried, stressed or angry they were that day.

After all, he was a great example of Justin's charm; no matter how irritated, how frustrated or how enraged he felt on any given day, all Justin had to do was flash that bright Sunshine grin and it all melted away. Something the conniving little twat had used to his advantage on more than one occasion.

"He's better," Brian said, deliberately misunderstanding her true question as he'd heard the undertones and he so did _not_ want to discuss Blaine now. Or ever if could've gotten away with it; but that was a pipe dream. "The cold is pretty much gone."

"That's not what I meant," Cynthia said, casting him a chastising look; one that Brian easily, and blatantly, ignored having been on the other end of it more times than he could count over the years. "How is he dealing with…everything?"

"He's stressed," Brian conceded with a sigh. He ran a hand over his head and then scrubbed at the back of his neck. "We're both stressed; which is to be expected."

"Do you know why this guy…" Cynthia trailed off, obviously not certain how to put her question into words; but Brian got the gist of it.

"Has fixated on Justin?" Brian inquired with a stiff smile; he rubbed a hand wearily over his face before jumping in. "Who knows why he's fixated. Who really knows why _anyone_ does this? According to what the detective was told, this guy believes that I interfered with his and Justin's relationship for some reason. But, Justin swears that he's never had any kind of intimate relationship with him. Plus, the only other relationship of note that Justin has had in the past was with the fiddler, and it's definitely not him."

"It couldn't be a former trick?" Cynthia asked delicately; Brian smirked at her obvious reluctance to bring up his and Justin's past open relationship; but shit was what it was. "It's not like you guys ever paid much attention to them."

"No." Brian said with a certainty that he didn't really feel. Cynthia arched a single brow, making Brian sigh, shake his and expound. "Not that I can discern. Even when we tricked alone, after that first year, Justin would send me a picture of his intended target and vice versa; that is, if we weren't together at the time. And I'll admit, he vaguely reminds me of someone, but not a former trick. He's not really either of our types."

"Maybe he's just a fan," Cynthia suggested with a shrug. "A sick fan that he met at one of his shows; he acknowledged him in some small way and they built up this fantasy world in their head surrounding Justin."

"That almost terrifies me more than it being someone we know," Brian admitted quietly, deliberately looking away from Cynthia's sympathetic look. While Cynthia might be one of the few people Brian confided in, he still didn't feel all that comfortable showing his more vulnerable side to anyone but Justin, his Sonny Boy and Jenny. "Because; someone like that…there would be no rational reason…"

"Brian," Cynthia sighed, garnering his attention once more when she paused in thoughtful silence. "People like this aren't rational. I personally know of this woman who was stalked by some guy she worked with; it went on for about a year before he was caught. And when he _was_ finally apprehended, and he was asked how he knew her, it came out that the reason he fixated on her was that she'd smiled at him at a work meeting. That was it. They'd never interacted on a personal level outside of staff meetings."

"And that's what terrifies me," Brian stated, pointing a finger. "This guy could be _anyone_ ; and no one at the same time. Luckily, we have a face to go with the threat now. That will make it harder for him to get near Justin. But we still have more questions than answers and seemingly no resolution on the horizon. And I don't like the feelings that evokes."

They fell into silence for a few moments, each of them lost in thought; Brian's likely a bit more scattered and panicked given the topic. He'd always hated feeling helpless and leaving matters in other people's hands and this entire situation had him on edge. And then Cynthia took a deep breath and refocused her attention on Brian.

"Maybe you should think about taking some time away," she suggested; Brian arched a brow as he thought he was doing that with this coming weekend. "I mean, get away altogether for a while; if not from Pittsburgh, then from the office." She paused and bit her lower lip. "I know that you planned on taking a couple of months off after Sunbeam is born; but maybe you should think about taking that last month off as well. Spend some time with Justin just enjoying the pregnancy away from it all."

"Are you trying to get me killed by my husband?" Brian stared at his COO utterly dumbfounded. While the idea of staying home with Justin for the month leading up to Sunbeam's birth was appealing on some levels, he knew that Justin would see it as babysitting and throw a shit fit. "Justin…"

"Would likely be much more open to it than you think," Cynthia said, talking over Brian's protests. Brian snapped his mouth shut and just stared at his friend as she continued. "Yeah, he might put up a token fight in the beginning. But, even with the nursery done, there is still a lot of prep you need to do for Sunbeam, and I think he'd love the help."

Brian opened his mouth to tell her what a terrible idea this was, but then he stopped, closed his mouth and sat back with a noncommittal hum. The idea did have merit. And if he spun it right, he could even have Justin believing it was his idea from the beginning. Plus, knowing he was right there, in the house if there were any more issues would definitely make him feel better. He hated knowing that if something went wrong, he was at the very least a thirty-minute drive away from his husband.

"And if we need you," Cynthia continued, warming up to her subject. "You can always be teleconferenced in from Britin or even come in for that day. Ted, Murph and I have this; we managed to run the office without a hitch while you were setting up the New York satellite. And if it makes you feel better, I'm certain that Tony from the New York office wouldn't mind coming down here early. He's always bitching about summer in New York; not that Pittsburgh is any better."

"And this has nothing to do with him being in your bed earlier," Brian teased, knowing that the two of them had a friends with benefits arrangement for when they weren't in a relationship. Although, lately, he'd gotten the feeling it was growing more serious.

"That's just a nice side benefit," Cynthia smirked, laughing when Brian shot her a disgruntled look. The last thing he wanted to do was think about breeder sex; even if she was one of his dearest friends. The very thought made his dick soft. But that was neither here nor there. Cynthia gave his a serious look as she rose. "Just think about it."

"I…" Brian started to respond, but was cut off with a flushed and breathless Emmett hurried through the door. He arched a brow and waited until the other man got his breath back and then frowned when he immediately demanded.

"You need to leave now."

"What is it with you people and ordering me to leave today?" Brian groused, looking between a winded Emmett and a smirking Cynthia.

"In their case?" Emmett snorted, his hands on his knees as he looked up at Brian. "It's likely because you're driving them insane with your constant micro-managing. You know they've got this. Me? It's the phone call that I just received."

"Please tell me he didn't…" Brian began, a scowl firmly on his face as Emmett smirked and nodded, knowing that Brian had caught on immediately.

"Come in early?" Emmett finished the thought with an irritated look. There was only one person that could put that expression on Emmett's face and Brian prayed he didn't see Mikey before he left, otherwise he was liable to kill him. "Yes he did; he wanted surprise all of us. No guesses needed as to where he's headed first."

"Fuck my life," Brian muttered under his breath; he stood and began to gather up his things and then cursed again when he remembered he was supposed to be meeting Murph in a few minutes and couldn't bolt as much as he wanted to. He turned to Emmett and arched a brow. "Justin…"

"Is waiting by the back door with the SUV still running and ready to leave for the airport," Emmett said with a calculating grin. "Unless you want Blake to drive you so that you don't have to leave it behind in long term parking."

"God, I love that man," Brian professed with a heartfelt sigh; but then reality crashed again as he looked at the clock over his door with annoyance. "But fuck; I have a meeting with Murph in a few minutes and…"

"I will be taking it over," Cynthia said in a no-nonsense tone as she started gathering his things for him. "Just email me all of the details for the meeting and what you want done with the Amoré Dolce Gelato account after you get into the car."

And Brian really shouldn't have been surprised that Cynthia was already in the know as to what account he and Murph were consulting on this morning, but he was. He really should know better given that Cynthia held the heartbeat of this company and often knew things even before he did much to his annoyance some days.

"But…" Brian protested and then held up his hands in surrender when Cynthia glared at him. "Fine; let me just gather my things." Brian turned to Emmett, who was leaning against the door jamb, still looking annoyed. "Do we know when Michael will be here?"

"Ben called Deb and told her that he flew out this morning," Emmett huffed. "His flight should be landing soon and then he was planning to make his way here once he dropped off his bag at Deb's; he was making noises about wanting to stay at the loft."

"Like fuck is that happening," Brian snorted, grabbing his coat and briefcase. "Let's go." He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, dialing a familiar number as he strode out the door. "Hey, Sonny Boy; yeah, Em just stopped by to tell us about his ' _surprise_ ' visit. Why he told your Grandmom Deb and expected it to stay a secret, I have no idea; but I am glad for that bonehead move. I just wanted to let you know that Jus and I are leaving for the airport now and that we won't be home until late Sunday night. If you need anything, call the other phone – you know which one I'm talking about – as Jus and I will be turning our phones off. Let your sister know as well as I don't have time to call her. I'll call you later tonight and let you know when we get to Aunt Daphne's and Uncle Liam's. I love you too, Sonny Boy. I'll talk to you later."

"The other phone," Emmett immediately asked once Brian hung up.

"Yeah," Brian huffed, shooting Emmett a look that said, ' _if anyone hears about this I will end you._ ' Emmett just held up his hands. "You likely have Justin's other line that he uses for 'work' if I'm right. That would be the other phone. We gave that one out selectively. And as it's Justin's 'work' phone, there was no reason for Mikey or Lindsay to have it."

"Smart move," Emmett agreed as they made their way out the back door and over to the SUV. "Have fun; don't do anything I wouldn't do."

"Like that really limits us," Brian smirked; he briefly considered walking around to the driver's side and making Justin get into the passenger seat, but then decided that pissing his husband off with his over-protectiveness wouldn't be conducive to a fun-filled and relaxing weekend. So, he walked over to the open passenger-side door, nodding to Blake as he climbed in. "Blake."

"Brian," Blake nodded; and Brian couldn't help wondering where Luc was, but then figured he was likely with Ted or Deb.

"No need to drive us," Brian said, tossing his briefcase into the backseat. "We'll be getting in late on Sunday and it'll be easier for us to drive ourselves back to the loft."

"Sure thing," Blake smiled as he shut the door; he waved to Justin and then walked off, calling over his shoulder. "Have a good trip."

"Ready to get the fuck out of here?" Brian asked as he leaned over and kissed his husband, lingering just a little as he never could get enough of Justin's lips.

"You have no idea," Justin fervently said, a bright grin on his face as he pulled away, put the SUV in drive and headed down the road to the airport.

**… … … … …**

Brian carried both carry-on bags as Justin waddled ahead of him; not that he'd ever tell his husband that he was hitting the waddling stage. He liked his dick attached to his body, not unceremoniously cut off and shoved up his ass, thank you very much. Telling Justin that was just asking for trouble and he so didn't need that this weekend. As it was, he was just thankful that the flight from Pittsburgh to New York went smoothly and that Justin still seemed to be in a cheerful mood.

He had been worried that Justin would be uncomfortable even if they were sitting in first class, but Justin just chirped on about the weekend with no signs of discomfort or fatigue. Of course, that could have had more to do with seeing his favorite fag hag and nothing to do with his comfort; but Justin had never been shy about sharing his discomfort before, so Brian took that to mean that everything was copacetic.

Or that he'd hear about it later.

Either way, Justin was more than happy to be hurrying through the airport as fast as his feet would carry him and Brian was just happy to be out of Pittsburgh.

"Justy!" Daphne called as she ran full pelt towards them and then skidded to a halt in front of Justin, throwing her arms around his equally exuberant husband.

"Daph!" Justin shouted, garnering several curious onlookers that had Brian rolling his eyes as he walked past the two embracing friends and joined a more sedately walking Liam with a wide-eyed and babbling Kian in his arms.

"Oh, I've missed you!" Daphne exclaimed as she squeezed Justin until he was nearly blue; Brian rolled his eyes again and came to a standstill by Liam.

"It's been too long," Justin agreed as he pulled away; he tucked his arm through her arm and walked towards him and Liam.

"Hey, Liam," Brian greeted, and then he set the carry-ons down at his feet as Kian squealed and instantly reached out to Brian. He gently took the three-year-old in his arms and hugged him, laughing when he received a wet kiss on the cheek.

"Hey," Liam greeted, picking up the carry-ons and slinging them over his shoulders. "You'd think they hadn't seen each other in years, rather than a couple of weeks."

"Two weeks is too long when Justin is this close to the end of his pregnancy," Daphne huffed, disentangling herself from Justin and rushing towards Brian. "Things change so much." She took Kian out of his arms and handed him off to Justin. Not that the kid cared; he was equally happy to see Justin. "Here, take your Godson for a moment while I hug your gorgeous husband."

"You know," Liam drawled, casting Brian a mock disgruntled frown. "If I didn't know that she had absolutely no chance with you, I'd be worried about her very obvious infatuation. "

"It's the Kinney genes," Brian smirked as Daphne released him from her death hold. "I can't help it that the Doyle genes just can't hold a candle to us Kinneys. After all, look at my kid; he's the spitting image of me."

"Nice try, Cousin," Liam snorted as he wrapped a companionable arm around Brian's shoulders and gave a squeeze. "But we all know who the true looker in this family is; look at my beautiful wife and son. Do you honestly think you could do better?"

"You see that beautiful, pregnant blonde there?" Brian said, pointing to an exasperated Justin, who was rolling his eyes at their posturing. "He's been mine from the very first time he stepped foot on the Avenue. I was his first in everything; beat that."

"Are you two done with your pissing match so we can get out of here?" Daphne asked impatiently as she took her son back. "Or should I take my son and Justy and you two can find your own way home once you're done? I have food that needs supervision."

"Food?" Justin asked, instantly perking up; and this time it was Brian's turn to roll his eyes. Again. It seemed like he was doing an awful lot of that today.

"Oh, you said the magic words," Brian teased, dodging Justin's foot as he tried to kick Brian in the ankle. "It's been a whole two hours since he last ate."

"Bite me," Justin huffed, flushing when Brian grabbed him around the middle and dragged the blonde against him, front to back.

"Later," Brian murmured against his ear, and then nipped the lobe before setting him free. Daphne rolled her eyes and Liam smirked as he turned back to them.

"So, what's on the menu tonight?" Justin asked, literally salivating as he caught up to Daphne and headed towards the parking lot. "I'm starving."

"Of course, you are," Brian snorted, taking one of the carry-ons back from Liam and following in their wake.

"I got that slow-cooker pulled-pork recipe from Emmy Lou," Daphne said, snickering when Justin squealed in happiness. "So, I thought we'd have sliders topped with apple slaw tonight, some baked and seasoned sweet potato fries, and a green salad for those of us that insist on eating like birds."

"Just because some of us prefer to eat lightly at night," Brian huffed, knowing exactly who she was talking to without her needing to look over her shoulder at him. It was an argument they had every time he and Justin visited. "Is no reason to make fun."

"I don't know why you're bitching," Justin complained; something he'd taken to doing now that he'd outgrown his regular clothing and had been forced into maternity wear. "You haven't gained an ounce in all the years I've known you; unlike some of us."

"And that is all down to my eating habits," Brian said with a smug smile; and then he scowled at his husband. "And, please; if anyone has the right to bitch, it's me. The only weight you've gained since we've met is pregnancy weight. And we know that as soon as you pop Sunbeam out, you'll be back in your regular jeans in no time with your metabolism."

"Pop Sunbeam out?" Justin arched a brow at his choice of words.

"You know what I mean," Brian said, dismissing it with a wave of his hand.

"I still say you are far too skinny," Daphne complained, poking Brian in the side for emphasis. "I remember telling Justin that when I first saw you and he was going on and on about 'seeing the face of God.' Me, I like a little meat on my men."

Daphne smirked and leaned over to grab Liam's ass as he bent to open the hatch of their car, making his cousin yelp and glare at her over his shoulder. In truth, Liam was one of the few cousins he actually liked from Joanie's side of the family. Mostly because they thought along the same wavelength and Liam despised Joan as much as he did.

But that was an entirely different story for another night.

"Oh, there are plenty of inches on me," Brian smirked and wiggled his brows at a flushing Daphne. "They just all went to the most important part. Just ask Justin."

"Like I need to ask him," Daphne huffed, putting Kian into his car seat before going over to the front passenger side door and opening it. "I vividly recall just how bounteous it is due to all the times you've paraded around the loft naked."

"And on that disturbing note," Liam snickered as he closed the hatch and rounded the car to open the driver's side door. "I say we get out of this zoo and then head home."

"Awwww, Cous…don't be hating just because I'm gifted…" Brian teased, and then opened the door to help Justin into the backseat. He shut the door and then quickly climbed into the far back of the SUV. He didn't trust Liam not to leave without him just to be a dick.

"Fuck off," Liam shot back; and then he started the car and pulled away, cussing up a storm in Gaelic as he joined the rest of the traffic.

**… … … … …**

Brian awoke with a start, confused as to where he was; he rubbed his eyes and then blinked slowly as he looked around the unfamiliar room, wondering just where the hell Justin was, when it all came flooding back. Right. He was in New York at Daphne and Liam's apartment. That still didn't tell him where his wayward husband was.

Well that wasn't true, Brian could guess exactly where he was, he was just surprised that Justin was still out with his little fag hag gossiping since usually he went to bed much earlier than Brian did. He seemed perpetually tired these days.

Glancing over at the clock, he groaned when he saw that it read 2:25 in the morning and then flipped the comforter off of himself. He sat up, shaking the sleep haze from his head and then stood, grabbing the robe that was lying on a nearby chair. Time to go track Justin down and drag him to bed or he'd never get up on time later that day. Shuffling out the door, Brian walked down the hall towards the living room and then paused as Daphne's skeptical voice carried out of the room and into the hall.

"So this guy just turned himself in?" Daphne asked; and Brian could visualize the confused and doubtful look on her face as she said it.

"That's what it looks like," Justin sighed; and Brian felt a pang in his heart as he detected the strain and weariness in his husband's voice. It had been a rough few months for them both and Brian was more than a little frustrated with the lack of results. Justin really did not need all this stress; it wasn't good for him or the baby.

"But I thought he ran away from, Brian?" Daphne replied, her tone still skeptical. "Why would he turn himself in after going through so much trouble to hide his identity?"

"I don't know," Justin said; and Brian could just see the little shrug that accompanied it. It was both a blessing and a curse to know his husband so well.

"Justin," Daphne said, and then she paused as if searching for the right words. "Not that I'm unhappy that there was a break in the case by any means; but, just to play devil's advocate, are you certain that this guy is legit?"

Brian smirked at the question; that was his girl. Always looking at everything, and from every angle, questioning it in order to protect her Justy. This was why he'd wanted to come here for a visit; he knew that Daphne would force Justin to really think about everything and might even be able to shed a little light on the situation. She often saw things that neither of them did and they really needed that insight now.

"What do you mean?" Justin asked warily.

"I mean," Daphne paused once more; and Brian had to grin as he could just see her chewing on her lower lip as she always did when she was deep in thought. "Are you certain that this isn't some sort of red herring that's meant to throw you off the scent of the true stalker? Like I said before, he went through a great deal of trouble to keep his identity secret; that in, and of, itself is highly suspicious."

"Yes, I do believe he is telling the truth," Justin said with a certainty that, again; Brian himself didn't feel. Yes, he felt for Blaine; and if his back story was true, that was a fucking awful thing to deal with. But the fact remained that this is the guy that helped someone fuck with his husband and child. Brian wasn't so forgiving of his actions. "I can't go into why I do. The information is confidential as it's part of an ongoing case; but yes, I believe him."

"Another case…?" Daphne asked, obviously fishing for information; but of course Justin clammed up at that moment, making Daphne instantly suspicious based on her next comment. Was there any doubt why he loved this girl? She always had Justin's best interests in mind. "Justin...that doesn't sound very…"

"What Justin isn't saying is," Brian said, startling them both as he stepped into the room; better to nip this in the bud despite his own doubts. Daphne could be annoyingly persistent and they really couldn't release information on Blaine at this time. "There were mitigating circumstances for keeping on the down low. He has far too much to lose to be dicking us around."

Or at least he better not be; he would quite cheerfully kill Blaine if he found out otherwise. And he knew just who to call to help him hide the body.

"I thought you went to bed," Justin said, trying to smother a yawn.

"I did," Brian huffed, walking over to stand by his husband as he had no intentions of going back to bed without the twat. "But a certain someone promised that he would meet me there in an hour and he has yet to get his pretty, little bubble butt in there."

"Well, yeah," Justin said, staring at Brian blankly. "So?"

"Justin," Brian patiently explained, pointing at the clock on the DVD player. "It's 2:30 in the morning; well past that hour. I ended up falling asleep and just woke up to find my husband still twittering away with his bestie."

"Is it really?" Justin said, shooting a surprised look over at the DVD player. "Shit, I'm sorry; I didn't realize it had gotten so late. What time are we…"

"Don't worry about it," Brian dismissed his concerns, but did hold out his hand. "I figured you two would be up gabbing half the night. We don't have to leave until ten."

"Where are you going?" Daphne asked, instantly perking up with interest.

"He won't tell me," Justin pouted, looking up at Brian through a veil of lashes; likely hoping that it would break Brian's resolve. But he was on to the little brat and stood firm. "Said it would ruin the surprise."

"And that's the way it will remain," Brian snorted, knowing he was right when Justin stuck his tongue out at him. He pulled his husband off of the couch and pressed a kiss against his temple. "You'll just have to wait and see. And now, you two can talk more on Sunday. I'm stealing my husband away for the rest of the night; I'm sure yours would be happy to see you too. Say 'good night, Daphne.'"

"Good night, Daphne," Justin parroted, waving and snickering when Brian smacked him on the ass as he passed.

"Let's go twat," Brian groused as the headed down the hall to their room. "I don't want to hear you bitching when I wake you up in the morning."

"Well if you wake me up with a blow job…" Justin quipped and tossed a smirk over his shoulder as he walked down the hall and into the bedroom. "You'll definitely get no complaints from me."

"Twat." Brian complained as he entered behind Justin and quietly shut the bedroom door behind him; even as he joined his husband in bed, he couldn't help but think that it was a perfect way to wake his twat up in the morning.


	107. April 5 (Part One)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, this chapter is on the short side as I cut it in half. Sadly, an old back injury has decided to flare up the past two days and it makes sitting for any length of time uncomfortable. But I also wanted to get something out today, hence the half chapter since I came to a decent ending place. I'll post the rest on Sunday.

**April 5**

Justin stirred and slowly became aware of hands smoothing over his baby bump, stroking and massaging as a low, soothing voice filled the room. He fought back a smile as Brian began talking to Sunbeam in an easy, gentle tone. It was a weekend ritual he engaged in whenever he woke up before Justin; which, let's face it, was most days. Justin had never been one to rise early, preferring his soft, snug bed for as long as he could possibly get away with it; especially lately.

Who knew that carting all this additional weight around could be so damned exhausting?

Keeping his eyes closed, Justin shifted into a more comfortable position, happy that Daphne still had her maternity pillow, otherwise sleeping would have been a bitch. Brian paused, obviously watching to see if Justin was going to wake up. And then, when Justin settled back down, careful to keep his breathing measured and easy in the pretense of sleep as he loved these moments, Brian pressed a kiss onto his belly and continued.

"You really need to ease up on your Papa, my Sunbeam," he murmured, running his hands along Justin's stomach, easing any residual aches. It took everything in Justin not to groan aloud with pleasure because he seemed to be perpetually achy these days. "He had a tough time sleeping last night with you wiggling around like that."

Justin grinned internally as Sunbeam gave a kick at just the right moment, eliciting a low, delighted chuckle from his husband. Brian often said that they were just random kicks and movement, but Justin was convinced that Sunbeam knew exactly who was talking. The baby never squirmed or wriggled around this much when Justin was alone; it seemed that Sunbeam was as enamored of Daddy as Papa was.

"I bet you're going to be a dancer just like your Papa," Brian chuckled, continuing his impromptu massage. "Or I hope so. You don't want to be like your Daddy; he can't dance for shit unless he has Papa there to make him look good."

Justin snorted internally; wasn't that the truth? He loved Brian, but his idea of dancing was a sexy grind and sway, leaving much of the work up to his partner. Not that Justin minded, but dancing certainly wasn't his forte, unlike Justin, who had been forced into etiquette and dancing classes from a very young age by his mother.

"Don't tell your Papa this," Brian confessed in a low voice; one so low that Justin had to strain to hear him. "But the only reason I was even able to dance with him at his prom is that I forced your Auntie Em to teach me. It's a good thing your Papa was so good at following my lead, because I didn't know anything other than the dance steps that Auntie Em taught me."

Justin couldn't help but smile a little at that; he had often wondered how Brian had managed to pull that off when Justin knew damned well Brian wasn't much of a dancer. He'd always assumed that Brian had taken a few ballroom classes to get him by when he had to attend galas and other events that his clients threw. But to hear that he'd actually gone to Emmett and demanded lessons was funny as hell; he and a certain Queen needed to have a long talk about that.

"Although, I have since taken lessons because your Papa does love to dance," Brian continued, pressing his cheek and ear to Justin's stomach; and Justin had to hold back a hitch in his breathing and quell the urge to run his hands through Brian's hair. "And I'd do anything to make him happy; but that's our little secret."

Justin's heart fluttered a little at that confession ; God, he loved this complex, contradictory man more than he could ever say. That Brian had gone out of his way to learn something for no other reason than to make Justin happy…well, he should be used to it by now, as Brian always did these sweet little things. But it always surprised him no matter how many times he learned about them. Pressing his face deeper into the pillow, he let a few tears of happiness soak into it before rubbing them away.

"We are so lucky to have your Papa in our lives," Brian said, his voice growing hoarse as he continued to lay against Justin's belly; something he'd often claimed let him feel as close to Sunbeam as possible. "I'd hate to see how my life would have turned out if we'd never met. He, your brother Gus, your sister Jenny and you are the best things to have happened to this reformed club boy's life. And I am so grateful that he never listened to me and actually left all those years ago; I couldn't live without him."

Justin bit his lip as Brian fell into a somber silence; he shifted again, knowing that Brain was going to get serious just by the tone of his voice. And he wanted nothing more than to run a soothing hand over Brian's hair and shoulders, but he also knew that it would halt the flow of words and Brian needed this. He needed the chance to unload whatever it was that was bothering him before it ate him alive, so Justin refrained.

"For a while there, I was afraid I would have to," Brian whispered. "When he left for New York… I thought this is it – he's finally going to find more exciting things and people to fill his life and I'd just be a fond memory after a few years."

_Never. Never in a million years, Brian. You are my heart and soul and I would have never been able to forget you. I could have lived without you if I absolutely had to; but forget you? Have you become nothing but a memory? Never. I would have only been living a half-life. I could've never lived without you; no one would have ever measured up. I wouldn't have even wanted to try._

"I forgot for a little while just how stubborn your Papa is," Brian gave a watery laugh, tugging at Justin's heartstrings. "And I did a very stupid thing and tried to let him go so that he could live his dream unhindered."

How this impossibly stubborn man could have ever thought that Justin would let him go without a fight, he didn't know. But he was glad that he'd listened to his gut instinct when he hadn't heard from Brian in a few days and rushed back home to kick, or really, fuck some sense into his idiotic head. It was worth living on ramen for a month afterwards to fly home and make sure the man knew that he was stuck with Justin for good.

"But your stubborn Papa stormed home and persuaded me otherwise," Brian continued with another watery laugh, and Justin could hear the fond amusement behind it.

Justin smiled as he recalled the day he came home; it had been a Friday, about midday and it had taken all of his persuasive and wrangling skills to get the shifts of his new job covered so that he could take care of a 'family emergency.' He'd marched straight into Kinnetik, ignoring the new receptionist's queries on why he was there, stormed into Brian's office and slammed the door shut, informing an amused Cynthia that Brian was going to be busy for the foreseeable future.

Brian's eyes had widened as he stomped over to his desk, slammed his hands down on it and demanded to know why he was being an asshole and ignoring him. And then, when Brian was far too stunned at seeing him standing there to say anything, Justin had rounded the desk, climbed into his lap and told him in no uncertain terms that he wasn't going to allow the self-sacrificing asshole to push him away the best way he knew how.

"I won't tell you how," Brian snickered, and Justin could feel the grin that spread across his husband's face as he got caught up in the memory. "As you are far too young – and you better not even dare think of such things until you're at least thirty, maybe forty – but he talked your equally stubborn Daddy around and it really was the best decision your Daddy has ever made to listen to him. Even if he became a bitchy little queen when I replaced the money for his ticket afterwards; don't tell your Papa I said that. We don't need him giving Daddy hell for his language."

Asshole. He still remembered the argument that action had precipitated; and the equally passionate make-up session that came as a result, when this time, Brian stormed his castle and told him to stop acting like an ungrateful brat.

And thank God Brian didn't go into that; the last thing they needed to do was explain the birds and the bees to Sunbeam at this early date. Although, with their genes involved, if he thought Sunbeam would be waiting that long to experience life, he was seriously delusional. Neither of them had been the sort to let life pass them by, and he doubted that their children would either. Just look at Gus and Jenny for an example.

"I guess, what I'm saying is," Brian said, lifting his head off of Justin's belly to rest his chin on the arm he'd draped across it. "Your Papa is the most amazing man in the world – bright, strong, independent, talented as fuck, and so beautiful it hurts sometimes; your Daddy couldn't have asked for a better man."

Tears pricked behind Justin's eyelids; it always floored him to hear Brian's thoughts on him. Even after all these years later, Justin was awed by Brian's regard; he didn't feel as if he deserved it sometimes given the bratty way he acted.

"But it's also important that we remember," Brian lectured, bringing a small smile to Justin's face. "That _because_ he is that strong, we have to be vigilant and keep an extra close eye on him. We need to protect the little twat from himself sometimes because he thinks he can take on the world, and in his optimism, he sometimes forgets that people can be real assholes and gets hurt."

_Oh, Brian; when are you going to learn that it wasn't your fault? You did nothing wrong. I was young and immature and impulsive and I thought, because of my intelligence, I knew better. You tried to warn me, but there was no way you could have prevented my getting hurt because I was determined to grab life by the balls and live it full out._

"And it's our job to make sure that doesn't happen," Brian murmured. "Because Daddy wouldn't be able to live without his Sunbeam and Sunshine." Brian paused once more before finishing quietly. "Life wouldn't mean anything without either of you."

Justin took a deep breath, the tears spilling over once more as he listened to his husband's words. He desperately wished that he could convince Brian that the bashing wasn't his fault. Hobbs was sick and in denial and Justin fully believed that if it hadn't happened at prom, then it would have happened at another time; and this time he might have been alone and stranded and bled out because Brian wasn't there.

But he didn't know what he could say to ease the guilt that still lingered today; he'd tried multiple times to tell Brian this very thing, but Brian stubbornly held onto the notion that if he hadn't shown up, Justin wouldn't have been hurt. Which was complete bullshit as who the fuck brings a baseball bat to prom?

He hated to think of what might have happened had Brian **NOT** been there.

Sighing, Justin stirred again; as comfortable as the maternity pillow could be, he was getting to the part of his pregnancy where laying in one spot for long periods of time just wasn't comfortable anymore. And he was just thinking of giving up the pretense of sleep when he felt a sharp pain on his ass; yelping, Justin's eyes popped open and he glared at a smirking Brian, who'd just pinched him on the ass.

"What was that for, asshole?" Justin demanded, glaring halfheartedly at his husband.

"You can open your eyes, twat," Brian said dryly, bringing a dull flush to Justin's cheeks as he realized that he'd been caught. "You weren't fooling anyone."

Justin sheepishly grinned, but couldn't bring himself to feel much remorse. Brian rolled his eyes, sat up and then slowly crawled up the bed until he was laying next to Justin facing him. Justin carefully turned on his side, sighing with happiness when the pillow eased the strain on his lower back and then met Brian's chastising look.

"I didn't want to interrupt the Daddy and Sunbeam time," Justin huffed, realizing that it was a lame explanation even as he said it. Brian snorted in complete disbelief, letting Justin know that he wasn't falling for said explanation either. But in for penny, in for a pound. "Besides; I dare you to try sleeping with this wiggle worm inside of you."

Brian just rolled his eyes again, and then leaned over and softly kissed Justin on the lips, seemingly happy that Justin wasn't going to address the more serious part of his confession. Which, Justin would be getting back to that in time, but not right now. Right now, he just wanted to enjoy these quiet moments and forget about the world lying just outside their door, waiting to come in and destroy their peace.

This weekend was supposed to be about them after all; not about stalkers or obsessed accomplices or faithless friends determined to split them apart or meddling family members or…any of the hundreds of things that routinely cropped up. This was _their_ weekend and he refused to think about those assholes if he could at all help it.

"You're adorkable by the way," Justin teased, smirking when Brian merely arched a brow despite the flush in his cheeks. "Did you really ask Em to teach you to dance?"

"Why would I ask that dizzy Queen anything?" Brian huffed and looked away, the color in his cheeks deepening.

"You did!" Justin crowed, chuckling when Brian hissed and sent a disgruntled frown his way. "You sooooooo adore me!" And then he laughed again when Brian muttered that it was debatable under his breath. Justin grinned and then leaned over a dropped a soft kiss onto his husband's pouting lips. "You never told me that! So adorkable."

"And if you tell anyone," Brian growled, sending a heated glance Justin's way; not that Justin was very worried. "I will twist your balls into a knot."

"No you won't," Justin sighed happily; the things he learned about his husband when the other man thought he wasn't paying attention. If he only knew, Justin was _always_ paying attention when it came to him. "You like them far too much; and twisting them would mean that they'd be out of commission for the foreseeable future."

"That could present a problem," Brian conceded with a thoughtful frown and then glanced at Justin from the corner of his eyes. "Perhaps I'll just paddle your ass then."

"You say that like it's an actual deterrent," Justin smirked, knowing that this was all a front and that Brian really wasn't upset about Justin overhearing his conversation.

"I really need to find a better method of punishment," Brian huffed; he rolled over onto his hands and knees, so that he was now hovering over Justin, who was eyeing him warily. "You enjoy that one too much."

"Hey, don't blame me for being a kinky bastard," Justin said, and then squeaked when Brian grabbed his legs and yanked him to the edge of the bed. "What are you doing?"

"I do believe that someone asked for a special wake up call this morning," Brian purred, sending a delicious shiver tripping down Justin's spine as he pulled Justin's boxers off. "Far be it for me to not follow through with said request; and then some…"

"Brian…!" Justin squeaked in protest again; and then he groaned as his husband's mouth engulfed him and he couldn't think of anything to save his life.

**… … … … …**

Several minutes later, Justin lay sated and winded, a fine sheen of sweat covering his body as Brian flopped onto the bed beside him. He took in several gulps of air, trying to get his breath and heartbeat under control before he glanced over at a relaxed and smiling Brian, who was lounging back against some pillows, eyes closed with not a care in the world, as if he hadn't just sucked Justin's brain out from his dick.

"But what about…?" Justin asked with a small frown on his face; he fully expected that Brian would be on his way to giving Justin orgasm two by fucking him into the mattress; he had to be harder than a rock by now, but instead he just laid there.

"No need…" Brian said with a shy smile and an adorable flush to his cheek.

Justin furrowed his brow at those words and started to get upset at the thought that his husband was holding back because he thought Justin wouldn't want him to, when he looked down and…oh. That's what he meant; well, okay then.

"You mean you…?" Justin asked, feeling ridiculously pleased that his husband had gotten so turned on just giving him a blow job that he actually came from that alone.

"Watching you come is the hottest thing," Brian quietly confessed, stroking the backs of his fingers over Justin's cheek. "And sometimes I can't help myself."

"The feeling is mutual," Justin admitted, a slow, bright smile stealing over his face. One that Brian couldn't help but return as he leaned over and kissed Justin slowly and deeply, sending little zings of pleasure down Justin's spine. But sadly, it ended just as quickly as it started and Brian climbed out of bed and tugged Justin up.

"Come on, Sunshine," Brian commanded, tugging Justin into a reluctant sitting position; he really wanted to know what was more important than laying around and making love all day. "Up and at 'em; we have things to do…"

"I thought that was _people_ to do…" Justin quipped, unable to resist teasing the other man; he knew that Brian never even thought of tricking these days, nor did either of them miss it, but it had been a big part of their life at one time and Justin still liked to get his little digs in from time to time. It kept his husband on his toes.

"There is only one ass that I'm interested in these days," Brian murmured, squeezing said ass as he pulled Justin to his feet and against him; Justin's smile broadened as, while he knew that, it was always nice to hear. "And I plan to plunder it thoroughly tonight; for now, however, we have an appointment to make. So, shower time and a quick snack so we can get on our way."

"Still not planning to tell me where we're going?" Justin pouted; he pulled away with a yawn and then stretched, smirking internally when he caught Brian's eyes on him.

"Nope," Brian huffed, looking hastily away and heading towards the en suite bathroom. "The whole point to a surprise, Sunshine," he tossed over his shoulder, "is that it remains unknown until you get there."

"You're so annoying," Justin complained, pulling off his tank top, or really Brian's tank top, as he followed in his husband's wake.

"You love me anyways," Brian said just a touch smugly; and God help him sometimes, but Justin did – completely, utterly and without reservation.

"I do," Justin said very seriously as he cupped Brian's jaw with hands; Brian smiled that sweet, shy smile that always tugged at Justin's heart. "Very much so."

"And I love you too, Sunshine," Brian said, just as quietly and sweetly as he'd once confessed that he'd bought that palace out in West Virginia for his prince; for no other reason than to prove to Justin that he loved him. Justin smiled bright and happy, just as he had then, as Brian wrapped his arms over his shoulders and pulled him close to whisper against his ear. "More than I can ever express sometimes."

Justin tipped his head back and pulled Brian's mouth down to his, his eyes fluttering shut as their lips met and Brian instantly deepened the kiss. God, he could never get enough of Brian's kisses; they were as addicting now as when he had been a seventeen-year-old, inexperienced twink on Liberty Ave for the first time. Sighing as Brian pulled away, he leaned his brow against Brian's, just enjoying the moment until his husband reluctantly pulled away with one more kiss.

"Now enough stalling," Brian stated as he turned to the shower and started adjusting the temperature until he knew that it would suit the both of them. "Time waits for no man; not even beautiful, blond princes, Sunshine."

"Aren't you in a romantic mood today," Justin smiled, sighing with pleasure as he stepped under the warm water.

"Tell anyone that and I will deny it to my dying breath," Brian threatened as he stepped into the shower, closing the door behind him and crowding Justin up against the tile wall.

"Please," Justin scoffed, and then groaned as Brian turned him around to soap him up, his fingers working magic on any lingering aches. "Do I look stupid? I know better than to besmirch your asshole reputation..." Justin paused for impact before continuing on with a shit-eating grin. "You do a fine job of that yourself."

"Always the comedian," Brian huffed, smirking when Justin squawked as he smacked him on the ass; Justin stuck his tongue out at him.

"You love me this way," Justin said in an airy tone; and then choked up a bit when Brian dropped a kiss on the tip of his ear and whispered:

"I do; I do."

And then he lost himself again as Brian's mouth covered his and his husband's hands found much more interesting things to do other than soap him up.


	108. April 5 (Part Two)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My apologies for the delay in getting this next chapter up. Unfortunately, I am still dealing with health issues and it means that I haven't really been up to writing very much. I'm hoping that I'll be more up to writing as time goes on, but I do want say that I can't guarantee a posting schedule at this point due to these lingering issues. But, I did want to say I haven't abandoned the fic and I do plan to continue to work on it as time allows. Also, this chapter is not beta'd as mine are MIA at the moment and I really wanted to get this out asap. Please do forgive an errors and feel free to point any out. Again, sorry for the long delay in getting this out and I hope you enjoy this next installment. It is very flashback heavy, but people were wanting some history on Justin and Brian's relationship. And thank you for your continued support.

**April 5 (Part Two)**

Justin looked around with a dumbfounded expression, his eyes wide as he spun in a little circle, taking in the entrance of the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens and its surrounding area. Brian's insistence on him taking his allergy meds made so much more sense now. And hadn't that been a fight? Even with knowing that the meds were safe for Sunbeam, he hadn't wanted to take them if he could avoid it at all possible.

But Brian had just handed him a bottle of water and imperiously demanded that he take them this morning despite Justin's arguments against it. And it was a good thing that Justin had finally conceded no matter how reluctantly. And the delicious round of morning sex that he'd gotten as reward had more than made up for it.

...

_"What are those?" Justin asked, staring at the hand that Brian had thrust in his direction; it held his regular prenatal vitamins in it, along with two other little white pills that shouldn't have been there. He looked up and arched a brow._

_"Your allergy pills," Brian stated blandly, although he could tell that Brian was a little annoyed that he had noticed the extra pills. He held out a bottle of water in his other hand. Justin looked back down at the pills and snorted; did he honestly think that Justin wouldn't notice them? "You need to take them."_

_"Uh…no, I don't," Justin scoffed, grabbing the vitamins and bottle of water, but leaving the allergy meds in Brian's hand. "I told you before that I'm not taking any medication unless it's absolutely necessary while I'm carrying Sunbeam."_

_Brian huffed and pinched the bridge of his nose before grabbing Justin's hand and placing the two pills into the palm of it and pressing them firmly into it._

_"Just take the damned things, will you?" Brian groused, hands on his hips as he stared Justin as if he were mentally willing Justin to concede without argument. Well, tough shit._

_"Why?" Justin asked, eyeing his husband suspiciously._

_There had to be more to this; and damned if Justin was just going to swallow down two pills without a damned explanation for it. He didn't care how annoyed Brian got._

_"Because you're going to need them," Brian explained with all the patience of a toddler in a toy store. And if Justin hadn't been so suspicious of his motives, he might have laughed at his disgruntled posture and the unhappy moue that reminded him of Gus when he hadn't gotten his way at that same age. "And I'm not going to listen to you whine about being all snotty and sneezy today."_

_"Why do I need them?" Justin demanded once again, his lips pursing when Brian sighed again, acting put upon by his questions. It was a tactic he was familiar with and one he was not pandering to today – make a big enough stink and Justin usually backed down._

_"Justin, do you trust me?" Brian asked, arching a single brow._

_Oh, asshole; so unfair. Now, if he didn't let it go, Brian would think that he still had issues with trusting him; and after their recent blow up that was the last thing Justin needed. They were still trying to smooth things over between them after the whole Simon debacle. And judging by the glint in his eye, the bastard knew it as well._

_"Of course, I trust you; you asshole," Justin huffed, crossing his arms over his chest; Brian smirked, already well aware that he'd won. He was so going to pay for this at a later date. "What kind of question is that?"_

_"Then take the damned pills and stop asking questions you know I won't answer right now," Brian said, walking over to the chaise lounge and continuing to pack their bags as they planned to head straight for their loft as soon as they were done with…whatever Brian had planned for the two of them. And speaking of that…_

_"So, this has to do with the surprise?" Justin probed delicately, hoping for at least a small hint of what Brian had planned. But his husband was all too aware of his own tactics and just shot a baleful look over his shoulder._

_"Justin." Brian stated implacably and then looked pointedly at the pills in his hand._

_"Fine," Justin huffed; he popped the pills into his mouth and swallowed them down with some of the water, grimacing as one of the vitamins almost lodged in his throat. He took another swallow of water to help it down and then set the bottle aside with a warning glare. "But this better be worth it."_

_"It will be," Brian said, a smirk firmly planted on his face now that he'd gotten his way; again. Really, one of these days Justin was going to find a way to resist the asshole._

_Maybe._

_Brian finished packing Justin's backpack, closed it and set it next to their suitcase. And damn, Justin wished that he'd paid better attention to what he'd been packing in that one. It might have given him a hint as to where they were going. That was likely why Brian had distracted him with the pills in the first place. Sneaky bastard._

_"And if it's not, I'll make up for it later," Brian drawled as he slowly prowled towards Justin._

_Licking his lips, Justin watched his husband's approach, his dick already twitching in anticipation as, while the blow job was great, it wasn't nearly enough. It was never enough when it came to Brian and the asshole used it to his full advantage. Sliding his eyes slowly over his husband's body, Justin licked his lips once more as they caught on the very obvious erection Brian was sporting and he flicked his eyes back up to meet hazel ones._

_"You'll make it up to me now," Justin demanded, bring another sexy smirk to his husband's lips. "I'm in desperate need of your cock in my ass."_

_"Such the demanding little twat," Brian purred as he pushed Justin down on the bed and hovered over him, his hands already untying the belt to his robe. "It's lucky for you that my dick has a fondness for said ass and fucking you is hardly a hardship._

_..._

Definitely well worth conceding the point; but he digressed.

Justin turned back to his husband, a smile quickly flowing over his lips as he stared at Brian with open surprise and pleasure.

Brian, for his part, just stared back, his lips rolled under, and that damned sweet, earnest look in his eyes that got to Justin every time. Justin turned back to garden entrance, and surprised didn't even begin to cover what he was feeling; especially as he knew that Brian absolutely hated coming to the gardens. He always ended up restless and bored and there was only one other time that he'd gone of his own initiative.

"What?" Justin asked faintly, looking back and forth, first to his husband, then to the garden entrance, and then back to Brian, trying to make sense of the situation.

"I remembered how much you loved the Botanical Gardens when the Cherry Blossoms were in bloom," Brian shrugged, his cheeks once again pink and his tongue firmly tucked into his cheek. "Sadly, it's too early for the festival since, as we both know; they hold that at the end of the month, but I thought you might want to at least come here and have brunch at the café; and then maybe spend a couple of hours sketching."

"Brian…" Justin trailed off and just stared at him, his grin broadening until it was nearly splitting his face in joy; and then he bounced over and wrapped the ridiculously romantic man in his arms and gave him a firm kiss on the lips.

"So, what do you think?" Brian asked as he pulled away, looking over at the gardens with only the faintest hint of disdain. In fact, no one would ever see it outside of Justin, but he did appreciate that Brian was trying to hide it from him. "Good surprise?"

Biting his lower lip, Justin looked back over at the entrance, and couldn't help but remember the first, and he thought at the time, the last time Brian joined him here. It too had been an unexpected visit, with Justin having left Brian working at their loft that morning to go to the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens Cherry Blossom Festival, something he had gone to every year since moving to New York.

It was exactly the kind of event that Brian loathed and Justin would have never dreamed of seeing him there; which is why he'd been stunned to see Brian standing near his favorite café when he went there to have lunch.

...

_"I can't believe that you're actually here," Justin said, staring at his lover in amazement, his eyes widening further when Brian shrugged and actually blushed._

_"You said you'd be here," Brian stated simply as he looked anywhere, but at Justin. He was still uncomfortable with his feelings and admitting them out loud; which made them all the more precious to Justin. "And I got bored at the loft and figured, why not?"_

_Justin huffed a laugh; that was a typical Brian reaction – using humor and sarcasm to deflect from the squishy feelings he so hated to admit out loud._

_"Because you hate these things?" Justin asked rhetorically; he arched a brow and was surprised when Brian blushed once more. Wow. Two blushes in less than two minutes; that had to be a record for him._

_"Point," Brian conceded with no small amount of embarrassment; and then he shrugged once more and gave Justin that sweet smile that made his heart flutter. It was so rare and he cherished every one of them. "But you love them; and well…I wanted to be with you. Thus, I am here. I'm surprised you're not curled up in a little ball, a sneezing, snotty mess. I thought you were allergic to flowers."_

_"To some, yes," Justin said, dropping it for now as he could tell that Brian really didn't want to dwell on his sudden appearance. "And for those, I am so doped up on antihistamines, it isn't funny. But the cherry blossoms aren't so bad, and the garden is far too beautiful to miss when they're in bloom. Plus, I want to get pictures as I have an idea for a series of pastels I want to do featuring cherry blossoms."_

_"Ever the artist," Brian gently mocked, snickering when Justin gave him the hairy eyeball. "So, where do you want to start?"_

_"Where everyone starts," Justin said, returning the favor. "At the beginning. Duh!"_

_"Smart ass," Brian huffed, and then wrapped an arm around his shoulders and pressed a kiss against his temple._

_"You love me anyways," Justin joked, knowing that it was true, but wanting to keep things light in deference to Brian's earlier discomfort._

_"I do," Brian said quietly, making Justin look up at him, his heart stuttering at the sincerity in his eyes; and he barely held back a small gasp as Brian pulled him in his arms and repeated the words with even more fervor. "I do."_

_Justin did gasp then and made a small noise of happiness as he broke out into a wide grin; it reminded him of the first time that Brian had told him that he loved him, the two of them standing on the street, covered in soot after the bombing. And Justin couldn't help but be overwhelmed by this man and the feelings he evoked._

_He launched up onto his tiptoes and pressed his lips against Brian's, instantly getting lost in the feel and taste of him as Brian deepened the kiss. God, how he loved Brian's kisses; had from the very first one that had set his soul on fire and left his world spinning precariously on its axis. That hadn't changed all these years later._

_Pulling back, he grinned up at his lover once more, excited to be sharing this moment with him, even if he knew that Brian was likely to be bored as hell. Brian smiled that sweet, small smile once more and Justin couldn't help pressing another soft kiss to his lips, just happy to be spending time with him. And then he pulled away and linked his arm with Brian's, dragging him towards the café._

_"But, first we must lunch," Justin stated happily._

_"Of course, we must," Brian snorted, a teasing smile on his lips. "Why do you think I met you here? I know you far too well, Sunshine."_

_..._

Justin would never forget that day; it had been perfect with the two of them having lunch at the Yellow Magnolia Canteen. The food had been wonderful with Brian having the Tomato Lentil soup and a Chicken Salad Sandwich with mixed greens; and Justin had gone with the Corn and Green Chile Chowder and Chicken Fingers.

After lunch, they'd then walked around the Gardens for two hours, focusing heavily on the cherry blossoms, so that Justin could take some pictures for reference. He'd recently seen some Japanese art featuring cherry blossoms and it had sparked his muse. (And quite lucratively as well, although he had taken a more abstract view on his art.)

But Justin could tell after two hours that Brian was growing bored with walking around, and found a nice quiet spot that they could sit. He pulled out a soft blue throw and laid it on the ground, and then grabbed his sketch book and pencils, eager to put down some ideas before he lost them; and then he sat down, watching in amusement as Brian pulled a book from somewhere and laid down to read.

And there they had spent another quiet two hours as Justin feverishly sketched out the rough ideas of his planned pieces, until finally his hand grew tired and he had to quit.

...

_Justin closed his sketchbook, set it aside and then flopped down on his back on the blanket, closing his eyes to the sun filtering through the branches of the tree they were sitting under. He turned his head and cracked an eye, and watched Brian as he continued to read with a small smile on his face. He had gotten up at some point and moved to lean his back against the tree, his legs crossed in front of him._

_Scooting over, Justin plopped his head in Brian lap and then grinned at his lover when he looked down at him with an arched brow. Brian smirked and then back to reading his book, but he did drop one hand down into his lap and started carding his fingers through Justin's hair. Sighing in contentment, Justin closed his eyes, and he thought that he even might have dozed off at once point, until he felt something hit his chest._

_Startled, Justin opened his eyes and stared with no little confusion at the black velvet box sitting in the middle of his chest. He frowned and then looked up at Brian, who had rolled his lips under and was watching him with some apprehension, but Justin's muddled mind couldn't figure out just why until he looked at the box once more._

_And then it clicked._

_"What is…?"Justin stammered, staring at the jeweler's box with wide eyes. He knew this box; he'd seen it numerous times before he'd left for New York and then he'd never seen it again. He'd been crushed when he couldn't find the rings the next time he'd visited and had assumed that Brian had returned them. But now, if this was the same box…he looked back at Brian. "Are these what I think they are?"_

_"Open it and find out," Brian said in lieu of answering; not that Justin had really expected one, but still…_

_Justin cautiously picked up the box and opened it, his breath catching, and his eyes tearing, as he stared at the rings Brian had purchased so long ago when he'd first asked Justin to marry him. Before New York came calling and Justin and he had decided that they didn't need rings or papers to show how much they loved each other. Taking a deep, shuddering breath, Justin looked back up at his lover._

_"Brian…?" he asked hesitantly, wondering what this all meant and why they were here._

_"I couldn't get rid of them," Brian huffed, glancing away for a brief moment, but not before Justin could see a small flash of pain flit through them. "I know that we both said that we didn't need rings or vows, but…I couldn't let them go."_

_"I…" Justin swallowed thickly when his voice choked up; he cleared his throat and whispered in a low, husky voice. "I wouldn't have wanted you to either despite what we said; I can't believe you still have them. Why…?"_

_"Because I still want it, Justin," Brian said, his eyes bright and glassy as they stared down at him. He cleared his throat and looked away to gather his thoughts and then looked back before continuing in a hoarse voice. "You were right – we don't_ _**need** _ _all the trappings, the rings and vows; and a piece of paper isn't necessary to show the world that we want to be together; that we belong together. But I still want the dream."_

_Justin flicked his eyes down to the rings, glinting in the pale sunlight and felt his throat constrict, and his chest began to ache; not from pain or hurt, but with a painful sense of awareness and wonder as Brian continued his entreaty._

_"I want to go to bed with you every night and wake up to your face every morning. I want to see your clothing stacked next to my clothing in my closet; and your drawers in my drawers. I want to look across the room and think, '_ _**he's mine** _ _**and no one else can touch him.** _ _' I want to feel you, and_ _**only** _ _you, when we're fucking. I want to see you rounded with my child, knowing that it would be the most beautiful sight I've ever seen. And I want to be so tied to you that we won't know where you end and I begin."_

_Justin's breath hitched and his eyes flew back to Brian's, completely overwhelmed by the words that he had spoken. Brian stared back at him with a calm that Justin didn't feel; his eyes were bright and sure; his mouth was curved in that sweet, shy smile that made Justin want to drop everything and conquer the world for him. And no matter how much Justin searched, he couldn't find even the tiniest pinprick of uncertainty or fear in his expression; which just had Justin tearing up again._

_"You can have all those things now," Justin said, his heart fluttering wildly in his chest; was this truly happening? "Why the rings?"_

**_'Why now?'_ ** _his mind couldn't help demanding._

_"Because in that vision, that daydream, I had of you," Brian said with a soft smile. "Across the room, rounded with my child, talking to some asshole that doesn't have a fucking chance in the world; I saw you with my ring on your finger, glinting in the low light, as you told yet another hopeful to fuck off. And I_ _**liked** _ _the idea of you wearing my ring, announcing to the world that you are mine, and_ _**mine** _ _alone."_

_Justin could barely breathe; this was completely unexpected. He'd thought that after nearly three years, and when he couldn't find the rings, that Brian had decided marriage wasn't for them after all. But, obviously, he had been so very fucking wrong in that assessment that it wasn't funny. Brian had just been waiting._

_Waiting for Justin to find and live his dream. Waiting for Justin to become an established artist; and, hopefully, to become the darling of the art world. Waiting for Justin to have his chance and make his mark on the world. Just waiting on Justin_ _**period** _ _to be ready for that next step, to join their lives together; and that realization was overwhelming._

_Rolling his lips under, Justin stared at his lover for a several long moments, his heart thundering in his chest and then he smirked._

_"You always have been a possessive bastard," Justin huffed, adding some desperately needed lightness to the moment. Otherwise, he just might cry and Brian would never let him live_ _**that** _ _down. "No matter how many times you've tried to deny it over the years."_

_"Well if people would stop touching my things…" Brian bitched playfully; and then he sobered, not one to be deterred when he really wanted something. "I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. So, yes; I don't_ _**need** _ _the rings and vows, but I_ _**want** _ _them. And I think that deep down, you want them too."_

_A watery smile spread across Justin's face; yes, this_ _**was** _ _truly happening and he couldn't be happier for it. This had been all that he'd wanted as that young, naive seventeen-year-old; one that refused to take no for an answer and had been determined to make this closed-off, complicated man love him as much he loved Brian._

_"So, Justin Taylor," Brian said, taking one of the rings out of the box. "Make me the happiest man on the planet and marry me; for real this time."_

_"Yes," Justin whispered; and then his smile brightened as Brian slid the ring onto his finger. He stared it for a moment and then he rose, looked Brian straight in the eye and repeated. "Yes, Brian Kinney; I will marry you." He pressed a soft kiss to his lover's lips and mumbled against them once again. "I will marry you."_

_Brian laughed softly into his mouth, a thing of pure joy as he deepened the kiss, and Justin's heart nearly exploded at the surge of pure love and joy that rushed through him as they sealed it with a deep kiss. God, could he be any happier than in this moment?_

_"Good," Brian murmured when they finally broke apart; and then he kissed the tip of Justin's nose before nuzzling his against it. "No take-backs this time."_

_"I wouldn't dream of it," Justin murmured, and then laughed, unable to contain the joy flooding through his body. He leaned his forehead against Brian's, all of his focus on the weight of the ring on his finger, and wondered how could life get any better than this._

_..._

Justin grinned at the memory; and then he turned to Brian and threw himself into his arms, peppering his mouth with light kisses. Brian rolled his eyes, but endured Justin's exuberant display of affection with all the aplomb of a man used to his partner's need to be _'moist and lesbionic'_ in his words.

"You ridiculously romantic man," Justin teased; and then he tipped his head back and stared at his husband knowingly. This was exactly what the two of them needed after the past harrowing weeks – a reminder of what they were fighting for. "You don't fool me any." Brian flushed at being caught out and looked away; but then smiled and shrugged as Justin cupped his cheek and turned him to face him. "I love it. You know that I always try to get here at least once a year. I can't believe I forgot about it this year."

"We have been very busy with…things, Sunshine," Brian said, his smile going grim.

"Yeah," Justin softly said, his own smile dimming at the reminder of…everything. Startling when Brian cursed under his breath, Justin attempted to shove the unhappy thoughts away and smiled weakly at his husband in attempt to reassure him. An attempt that failed based on the frown on his face. Brian sighed, pulled him close and pressed his lips to Justin's brow.

"No more dark thoughts," he murmured; and then he pressed another kiss to Justin's temple. "That's back in Pittsburgh and we have a brunch to get to." Justin turned and arched a brow. "As soon as we agreed to come up here, I made a reservation for Yellow Magnolia Café. I know how much you love their weekend brunch menu."

"Like I said," Justin teased. "Ridiculously romantic." He leaned up and kissed Brian softly on the mouth. "Thank you."

"Anytime, Sunshine," Brian smirked, looking ridiculously pleased with himself.

"So when do we eat?" Justin asked, his mouth watering and nearly bouncing on the tips of his toes as he thought about brunch. "I'm starving!"

"Well there's a surprise," Brian said dryly; and then snickered and yelped when Justin jabbed him in the ribs with his elbow. "Hey, watch it twat!" Brian huffed and rubbed his side with a mock glare. Justin smiled serenely and then yelped in surprise when Brian reeled him in and pressed a firm kiss to his lips. "You're in luck; our reservations are in ten minutes. Come on, twat; let's go feed the beast before it decides to consume us all."

"Oh, I can't wait for their biscuits with the salted molasses butter…" Justin chirped, licking his lips as he thought of all the yummy things he was about to eat. "Those are the things dreams are made of…oh! And the French toast. Definitely need the French toast…or do I want the frittata? Oh, or maybe the lamb…decisions, decisions."

Justin glared at his husband halfheartedly when Brian just snorted, nodded and patted Justin on the head in an obviously placating manner that told Justin that the other man was merely humoring him again. But as long as it got him biscuits, Justin didn't care.

**… … … … …**

After brunch, they'd then walked around the Gardens for about an hour, once again focusing heavily on the cherry blossoms, so that Justin could take some pictures. And although photography had never really been a medium he'd gravitated towards, the blooms once again sparked Justin's muse and he wanted to use the photos in this multi-media art idea that he wanted to explore.

But as always, all good things must come to an end, and Justin could tell after that initial hour that Brian was growing bored with walking around; plus, Justin had grown tired himself, as he had often these days. And he decided to find a nice quiet spot, so that they could sit and rest for a bit; and was pleased when 'their spot' was unoccupied.

Leaning against the tree, Justin watched as Brian pulled out a soft blue throw and laid it on the ground; he then pulled out Justin's sketchbook and pencils and handed them to him with a knowing look. Justin grinned and then waited until Brian pulled out a book sat down and leaned against the tree before he too sat down. He scooted back between Brian's raised legs and leaned against his husband's chest, happy to sketch whatever captured his whimsy.

It wasn't too long however before his eyes were drooping and he'd once again drifted into a light doze. He listened to the rustle and scratch of paper as Brian turned the pages of his book, and the laughter and low murmur of conversation around them, nearly slipping into a full sleep when he felt something hit his chest.

Startled, Justin opened his eyes and stared with no little confusion at the black velvet box sitting on his chest. He frowned and then looked up at Brian, who had rolled his lips under and was watching him with some apprehension, but his muddled mind couldn't figure out just why until he looked at the box once more.

And then it clicked; and a feeling of déjà vu washed over him.

Picking up the box, Justin opened it and stared at the ring inside – a thin platinum band inlaid with several channel set princess-cut diamonds. It glittered and sparkled in the low sunlight and quite simply took Justin's breath away. But it also left him reeling in confusion as he couldn't figure out the occasion, as he damned well knew that he hadn't missed a significant anniversary or celebration.

"Brian?" Justin asked faintly, looking up at his husband nonplussed, a single brow arching as Brian merely smirked and then said the last thing expected.

"Marry me," Brian demanded; not asked, but demanded. Justin's other brow shot up to meet the other in his hairline as he stared at his husband incredulously. Brian's lips rolled under, as if he were fighting back a grin, but the look in his eyes remained sincere.

"Uh, pretty sure I did that already," Justin huffed dryly, wondering where his husband was going with this. "Unless that was some other tall, dark and handsome stud standing next to me at the altar and I've been living a lie for the past five years."

Brian snorted.

"Marry me again anyways," he demanded again, his eyes sparkling with humor.

Justin rolled his lips under and watched Brian for a long, drawn out moment, his mind whirling. They had tossed around the idea of renewing their vows on their fifth anniversary; but it had never gotten beyond the talking phase as real life had taken over, first with some huge ad campaign that Brian was working on, which took months to complete and then Justin found out that he was pregnant.

Between the two, the idea had then fell by the way side and Justin assumed that it just wasn't going to happen. And he'd been fine with that as he turned his focus onto Sunbeam and had gotten caught up with the whirlwind of becoming a father.

Humming to himself, Justin looked back down at the ring in the box, and then couldn't help glancing back at Brian with an impish grin.

"Okay." Justin said, smirking when Brian huffed in exasperation.

"Really? This again?" Brian demanded, and then huffed again when Justin just continued to grin and tease him with his responses.

"Let's do it," Justin snickered, yelping when his husband showed his displeasure by pinching him on the ass. He really needed to find another way of punishing Justin; he was tired of bruises on his ass.

"Say it!" Brian demanded, sending Justin into helpless laughter as he poked him in the sides, his fingers inadvertently dancing over Justin's ribs and tickling him.

"Yes," Justin chortled, his eyes sparkling with laughter.

"Yes, what?" Brian stopped torturing Justin and smiled that sweet, shy smile that melted Justin's heart every time. Justin cupped Brian's cheek and looked deeply in to his eyes with a matching smile.

"Yes," he whispered, licking his lips nervously when Brian's eyes grew glassy. He leaned up and pressed a soft kiss against his husband's lips, murmuring softly against them. "Yes, I will marry you. I will marry you."

Brian sighed and deepened the kiss, and Justin lost himself in it, completely forgetting where they were as his heart raced and his toes curled. And then he reluctantly pulled back as a giggle broke through his haze. Blinking, Justin looked up and blushed when he found to teenage girls watching them and whispering to each other; and then, realizing they were caught, they giggled again and ran off. Shaking his head, he turned to Brian and gave him a dry smile.

"Again." Justin continued, making Brian huff for a third time.

"What can I say?" Brian smirked. "The best things in life are worth repeating. I was planning to do this at the end of the month, on the anniversary of when I asked, but I thought it would be better now, while we were in New York."

 _Right back to where their second chance started,_ was left unsaid _._ Justin bit back on a grin. And they said that Brian didn't have a romantic bone in his body. If they only knew.

"Especially after everything…" Brian said, trailing off when Justin frowned at the reminder. He cleared his throat and then gestured to the ring box. "There are fourteen diamonds, one for each year that we have been together; or will have been together by Gus' birthday. I figured that we could add a diamond for each year we're together until the ring is full and then after that I'll have to find another way to adorn you."

"Sap." Justin accused mildly, although he was secretly tickled at his husband's gesture.

"You take that back," Brian huffed, poking Justin in the side.

"Nope," Justin said a touch more gleefully than he should. "You are a complete and utter sap." He pressed a soft kiss to Brian's mouth. "But you're my sap."

"If you ever tell anyone…" Brian threatened halfheartedly.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah…I know," Justin snorted, dismissing Brian's threat with a flick of his hand as he picked up the ring and studied it closely. "Balls in a knot…blah, blah, blah."

"You say that like you don't believe me," Brian drawled, one brow arched.

"It's kind of hard to take it seriously when you've heard it as often as I have over the years without reprisal," Justin snorted again. "You're getting soft in your advancing age."

Brian scoffed and pinched Justin again.

"Ow! Meanie!" Justin yelped, rubbing his hand over his sore ass.

"I'll have you know that there is nothing _soft_ about me, Sunshine," Brian purred, drawing a small shiver of desire out of Justin. "As you well know from this morning."

"Well, I don't know," Justin said, laughter coating his voice; he tipped his head thoughtfully to the side and tapped a finger to his lips, his eyes dancing with amusement. "I seem to be very forgetful these days. I think you might need to remind me…Oh!"

Justin yelped as Brian huffed and quickly rose up from his sitting position, but not before he'd gently moved Justin to the side. Justin then watched in bewilderment as Brian single-mindedly packed the blanket and all of their things back into Justin's backpack as swiftly as possible. He chewed on his lower lip, wondering if he'd pushed the man to far, when Brian held out his hands; cautiously placing his hand into his husband's, Justin squawked when Brian tugged him up and then quickly started dragging him towards the entrance of the Botanical Gardens.

"Brian, what are you doing?" Justin asked in exasperation, his breath growing sort as they made their way through the gardens. He wasn't nearly as light on his feet these days, as Brian well knew, and he couldn't help feeling a bit annoyed with the pace.

But Brian just shook his head and continued walking for a few more minutes, Justin behind him and grumbling under his breath before Brian came to an abrupt halt. Trying to catch his breath, Justin watched in bemusement as Brian grabbed the back pack that had been hastily slung on one arm, slid his arms through the straps and secured it to his back. Arching a brow, Justin shook his head and stared at Brian, completely nonplussed as Brian strode over to him, scooped him up into his arms bridal style and started walking swiftly towards the exit.

"Brian! I can walk, you know," he squawked, his cheeks burning as he noted the stares, cheers and leers from the people surrounding them.

"Faster this way," Brian grunted, shifting Justin a bit in his arms for a better grip; Justin snorted and roll his eyes at his husband's antics. "We need to get back to the loft, and quickly; so you can put your money where your mouth is; my reputation is at stake."


End file.
